Sensex falls by 728 pts, snaps 7-day gaining streak on profit-taking in IT, banking shares

Stock markets snapped the seven-day winning run on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex tanking 728 points due to profit-taking in banking and IT shares ahead of monthly expiry of derivatives contracts.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 728.69 points or 0.93 per cent to settle at 77,288.50 as 25 of its components closed in the red. During the day, it slumped 822.97 points or 1.05 per cent to 77,194.22.

The NSE Nifty dropped 181.80 points or 0.77 per cent to 23,486.85.

In the past seven trading days, the BSE benchmark index jumped 4,188.28 points or 5.67 per cent. The Nifty surged 1,271.45 points or 5.67 per cent during the same period.

From the Sensex pack, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Zomato, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Maruti, State Bank of India, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Hindustan Unilever, and HDFC Bank were the losers.

IndusInd Bank, HCL Tech, Titan, Mahindra & Mahindra and Power Grid were the gainers.

“The market experienced profit-booking after the recent gains, on the back of next week’s US tariff announcements. The sectors with higher exposure to the US market, like pharma & IT, have witnessed some selling pressure,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Among Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Shanghai ended lower.

European markets were trading lower. US markets ended higher on Tuesday.

“Markets declined after a brief pause amid mixed cues. Following an initial uptick, Nifty remained range-bound in the first half, but profit-booking in select heavyweights dragged the index lower as the session progressed. Participants are booking profits ahead of the March derivatives contract expiry, while concerns over tariff discussions continue to weigh on sentiment,” Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

The BSE smallcap gauge declined 1.45 per cent and midcap dipped 0.67 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, oil & gas dropped the most by 1.52 per cent, followed by realty (1.37 per cent), utilities (1.32 per cent), energy (1.29 per cent), bankex (1.08 per cent), BSE Focused IT (1.12 per cent), IT (1.11 per cent) and teck (0.77 per cent).

Capital Goods emerged as the only gainer.

As many as 3,115 stocks declined while 919 advanced and 109 remained unchanged on the BSE.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹5,371.57 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.58 per cent to $73.44 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark gained 32.81 points or 0.04 per cent to settle at 78,017.19 on Tuesday. The Nifty eked out gains of 10.30 points or 0.04 per cent to 23,668.65.