Sensex slips 372 points, Nifty below 16K; Reliance, HDFC twins sink 2%

CLOSING BELL

Stock market highlights: The domestic markets gave up their early gains to close near the day's low on Wednesday as investors turned cautious ahead of the key US retail inflation data due later tonight.

As per global reports, the June headline inflation in the US is expected to rise to 8.8 per cent from the 40-year high of 8.6 per cent recorded in May. This, experts believe, could prompt the US Fed to continue hiking rates pushing the economy in a recession. 

The BSE Sensex fell 372 points at close to 53,514. The index had previously risen 325 points to the day's high. The NSE Nifty50 index had gained 92 points earlier in the day before settling 82 points lower at 15,967.

Of the 30-constituents, 16 shares ended higher with the gains led by HUL, Asian Paints, Kotak Bank, NTPC, Sun Pharma, and Nestle, rising up to 2 per cent. 

On the flip side, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins, Reliance, TCS, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Tech M, Wipro, Titan were the top drags, closing 1-3 per cent lower. 

Meanwhile, the broader markets showed resilience with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices ending 0.32 and 0.04 per cent higher, respectively. 

Among sectors, banks & financials, and oil & gas pockets on the Nifty were the top laggards, each closing 1 per cent lower. Nifty IT also ended with marginal cuts, while, FMCG and Pharma indices defied overall trend ending with strong gains of 1 per cent each.  

Global markets

Ahead of the US inflation data, stock futures linked to the Dow, S&P500 and Nasdaq indices held marginal gains of up to 0.3 per cent. 

European markets edged lower in early trade amid nervousness in investors. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell by 0.6 per cent.

BS Special

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