Sensex falls 535 pts dragged by HDFC & IT shares

Stock markets declined for a second day in a row on Wednesday with benchmark Sensex closing lower by 535 points due to selling in HDFC Bank and IT shares amid weak global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 535.88 points or 0.75 per cent to settle at 71,356.60.

During the day, it tumbled 588.51 points or 0.81 per cent to 71,303.97.

The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange slipped 148.45 points or 0.69 per cent to 21,517.35.

Among the Sensex firms, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Consultancy Services, Nestle, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank and Maruti were the major laggards.

IndusInd Bank, ITC, Bharti Airtel and State Bank of India were among the winners.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Hong Kong settled lower while Shanghai ended in the green.

"The lack of fresh triggers and concerns over valuation influenced investors to stay sidelined.

"Weak global indicators, like contraction in China & Euro zone manufacturing data, added concerns about global economic recovery in 2024.

"Importantly, the market was waiting for the FED minutes later today for rate insights," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

India's manufacturing sector growth fell to an 18-month low in December amid softer increase in factory orders and output, despite minimal inflation, a monthly survey said on Wednesday.

The HSBC India Manufacturing PMI survey, conducted by S&P Global, showed that there were softer, albeit sharp, increase in factory orders and output, while business confidence towards the year-ahead outlook strengthened.

The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell from 56 in November to an 18-month low of 54.9 in December.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.55 per cent to $75.47 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,602.16 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.