Indian equities closed in negative territory on Wednesday as sectoral weakness in IT, technology and real estate pushed major indices lower. At the National Stock Exchange close, the Nifty 50 dropped 0.86% to a fresh one-month low, while the BSE Sensex fell 1.08%.
Selling pressure in large-cap technology names accounted for much of the benchmark decline. On the Nifty 50, the session's largest percentage fallers included Infosys Ltd, which slid 4.55% or 49.20 points to finish at 1,032.80, HCL Technologies Ltd, down 3.99% or 51.00 points to 1,226.00, and Tech Mahindra Ltd, which lost 3.59% or 56.00 points to close at 1,503.00.
Not all major stocks were weaker. The standouts to the upside on the Nifty 50 were Adani Enterprises Ltd, which rose 5.12% or 151.10 points to end at 3,104.20, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, which added 3.22% or 55.00 points to close at 1,765.00, and Coal India Ltd, which gained 2.44% or 10.25 points to trade at 430.50 by the close.
Turning to the BSE Sensex 30, Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd was among the top performers, advancing 3.67% to 1,771.55. Tata Steel Ltd also registered gains, up 2.42% to 188.55, and NTPC Ltd rose 0.53% to finish at 333.25.
Conversely, the Sensex’s laggards mirrored the NSE movers: HCL Technologies fell 4.55% to 1,226.55, Infosys lost 4.43% to settle at 1,035.00, and Tech Mahindra declined 3.87% to 1,502.25 at the close.
Market breadth reflected the broadly negative tone. On the NSE, falling issues outnumbered advancing ones by 1,572 to 1,031, with 47 stocks unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 2,310 stocks declined, 1,774 advanced and 171 finished flat.
Volatility in Nifty options rose as the India VIX increased 6.63% to 11.98, indicating a pickup in implied volatility for near-term options on the index.
Commodity markets displayed mixed moves. December gold futures eased 0.02% or 1.05 to trade at $4,437.95 a troy ounce. Crude prices climbed: October delivery crude oil rose 2.43% or $2.26 to $95.29 a barrel, while the November Brent contract was up 2.93% or $2.87 to $100.79 a barrel.
In currency markets, the rupee weakened against both majors listed here. USD/INR was higher by 0.32% at 95.11, and EUR/INR rose 0.34% to 110.59. The US Dollar Index Futures was little changed, up 0.02% at 98.81.
Summary data from the session highlight that losses were concentrated among large-cap IT and technology companies, while select resource and infrastructure-linked names outperformed. Rising implied volatility and stronger crude prices were notable cross-market developments during the trading day.