Sensex drops over 150 points in opening trade; index majors HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries track losses

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex dropped over 150 points in opening trade on Wednesday, tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank amid a negative trend in global markets. The market, however, turned flat in the first half hour of trading. The 30-share BSE index was trading 6.73 points or 0.01 percent higher at 50,200.06, and the broader NSE Nifty advanced 1.50 points or 0.01 percent to 15,109.60. M&M was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 1 per cent, followed by ONGC, Kotak Bank, ITC, HUL and HDFC Bank. On the other hand, PowerGrid, SBI, UltraTech Cement, Nestle India and NTPC were among the gainers. In the previous session, Sensex soared 612.60 points or 1.24 percent to settle at 50,193.33, and Nifty quoted higher by 184.95 points or 1.24 points at 15,108.10. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 618.49 crore on Tuesday, as per provisional exchange data. Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities, said concerns from rising inflationary pressure globally and increasing apprehension among investors about Federal Reserve’s soft monetary stance due to sharp rise in CPI inflation may weigh on sentiments. US equities contracted for second consecutive day as mounting inflationary concerns and weak housing data weighed on investors’ sentiments, he noted. Modi further said that investors will continue to focus on the trajectory of daily caseload and vaccination ramp up in the country in the near term. “India has been reporting less than 3 lakh daily caseload for the last three days. This will continue to embolden investors. “It indicates that earlier assumption of daily caseload in second wave peaking-out by the end of May or mid of June holds true and adverse impact of second wave should not be felt beyond 1QFY22. This has already aided markets witnessing sharp uptick in the last two trading days,” he said. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Tokyo were trading on a negative note in mid-session deals. Equities on Wall Street ended with losses in overnight trade. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.15 percent lower at USD 67.92 per barrel.