Sensex falls by 255 points, Nifty by 76 as banking, IT firms face selling pressure
However, real estate stocks saw strong buying by investors, with the BSE Realty Index rising 0.57%.
The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex ended 255 points lower at 27,836 and the National Stock Exchange dropped 76 points to 8,615 on Wednesday. The decline was mainly after banking, auto and information technology stocks faced selling pressure by investors, The Economic Times reported. Other Asian markets also traded lower on the back of weaker oil prices.
Axis Bank was the worst performer on Nifty during intra-day trade, with its stock falling over 7% to hit a low of Rs 490, according to NDTV. This came after the bank reported an 83% drop in net profits on the back of a sharp increase in bad loans. A poor performance by the shares of companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and HCL Technologies led the BSE IT index to decline by 0.5%. However, real estate stocks saw strong buying by investors, with the BSE Realty Index rising by 0.57%.
Other Asian markets also under-performed, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index falling by 0.8% to 23,364.26 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 500 declining 1.5% to 5,359.80, according to AP. South Korea’s Kopsi fell by 1.1% to 2,013.89. United States markets also fell on Tuesday following disappointing third-quarter earnings from companies such as Whirpool Corporation and Under Armour.