Indian stock market indices experienced a substantial drop of more than 2% on Wednesday, driven by a significant sell-off in banking, metal, and oil shares following weak global cues.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded Indian stocks worth ₹27,896.04 crore while purchasing stocks worth ₹15,188.62 crore, resulting in a net outflow of ₹11,182.18 crore, as per NSE data. Meanwhile, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) acquired equities worth ₹15,188.62 crore and sold shares worth ₹11,182.18 crore, leading to a net inflow of ₹4,006.44 crore.
The BSE Sensex plummeted by 1,628.01 points or 2.23%, closing at 71,500.76. Intraday, it reached a low of 71,429.30, marking a decline of 1,699.47 points or 2.32%. The Nifty 50 index witnessed a fall of 460.35 points or 2.09%, closing at 21,571.95, marking the second consecutive day of decline.
Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, attributed the market downturn to a correction in banking stocks, concerns over delayed US Federal Reserve rate cuts, discouraging Chinese growth data, and rising US bond yields.
In the broader market, the BSE midcap index and smallcap index dropped by 1.09% and 0.90%, respectively. Key sectors such as bankex, financial services, metal, commodities, telecommunication, and realty witnessed declines, while IT, consumer durables, and tech were among the gainers.
The Indian rupee ended lower against the US dollar, closing at 83.1375, a decrease of 0.08% compared to the previous session’s close at 83.07. The decline was attributed to equity outflows and the US dollar index reaching a more than one-month high.