Markets open in negative note: Sensex down 400 points, Nifty drops; Axis Bank, RIL among top losers

The Sensex dropped over 400 points in opening trade on Wednesday tracking losses in index heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank amid weak cues from global markets.

After hitting a low of 29,602.94, the 30-share BSE barometer pared most losses to trade 14.98 points or 0.05 percent lower at 30,052.23.Similarly, the NSE Nifty was quoting 9.50 points, or 0.11 per cent, down at 8,782.70.

Shares slipped more than 1 percent in early trade on Wednesday, in line with broader Asia, as investors weighed the slowing rate of COVID-19 infections against rising deaths across the globe.

India, which has been under lockdown since March 25 to curb the spread of the new coronavirus, reported more than 4,000 infections and over 120 deaths, as of Tuesday.

Axis Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling up to 3 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, TCS, ITC and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, HUL, M&M and HDFC rallied up to 5 per cent.

In the previous session, the BSE barometer surged 2,476.26 points or 8.97 per cent to settle the day at 30,067.21; while the NSE barometer Nifty zoomed 708.40 points or 8.76 per cent to close at 8,792.20 -- the best session ever for both indices in absolute terms and the biggest since May 2009 percentage-wise.

Representational image. Reuters.

In Mumbai, the Nifty Auto index slipped more than 2 percent, with Maruti Suzuki edging 2.3 percent lower. The maker of the iconic Maruti 800 on Tuesday flagged here a more than 32 percent drop in passenger vehicle production in March.

The volatility index was down 1.5 percent at more than 51 points early on Tuesday.

The Nifty realty index slipped over 1.5 percent, while the Nifty banks index fell more than 2 percent.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net buyers in the capital market, as they bought equity shares worth Rs 741.77 crore on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.

Indian markets, in sync with global benchmarks, turned negative as worries over the economic impact of the pandemic continued to weigh on investor sentiment.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, investors are awaiting an ease in lockdown procedures, so companies can get down to generating business. In a holiday shortened week, any news regarding peaking infections will be bought into.

Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Seoul were in the red, while those in Tokyo were trading on a positive note.

Benchmark exchanges on Wall Street ended lower in overnight trade.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 2.26 per cent to USD 32.59 per barrel.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in India has crossed 5,000.

The global tally of the infections has crossed 14 lakh, with over 82,000 deaths. PTI

Rupee slips

Rupee slips 21 paise to 75.85 against US dollar in early trade.

Asian stocks turn cautious

Asian stocks stepped back on Wednesday after two sessions of sharp gains as investors tempered their optimism about the coronavirus while death tolls were still mounting across the globe.

While the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations seemed to be levelling off in New York state, deaths across the United States jumped by a record 1,800.

Mainland China’s new coronavirus cases also doubled in 24 hours due to infected overseas travellers.

Not helping sentiment were wild swings in the oil market, where prices rebounded in Asia after sliding on Tuesday to leave traders feeling dizzy.

US crude futures jumped 5.5 percent to $24.93 a barrel, having shed 9.4 percent the session before, while Brent crude added 75 cents to $32.62.

The erratic action spilled over into equities with MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan losing 0.7%.

Japan’s Nikkei went the other way and added 0.4 percent, while Shanghai blue chips lost 0.6 percent.

E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 wobbled either side of flat, while EUROSTOXX 50 futures dropped 1.1 percent.