However, widespread selling pressure led to a decline, with the BSE Sensex hitting a low of 70,302.60 points. The market capitalization of BSE-listed companies decreased by Rs 8,91,729.43 crore to Rs 3,50,19,998.87 crore, according to a PTI report.
According to Prashanth Tapse, Senior Vice President (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd, the market had been on a record-setting spree and was overbought, so a correction was expected. Redemption was seen across sectors, and even mid and small-cap stocks experienced significant selling pressure, Tapse noted.
Among the Sensex companies, Tata Steel saw the biggest decline, with a drop of 4.21 per cent. Other companies like NTPC, Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India, Power Grid, Tech Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, and JSW Steel also witnessed declines. HDFC Bank was the only gainer from the pack.
In the broader market, the BSE small-cap gauge fell by 3.42 per cent, while the mid-cap index declined by 3.12 per cent. All the sectoral indices ended the day lower, with utilities, telecommunication, power, services, metal, commodities, industrials, capital goods, and consumer discretionary sectors experiencing declines.
A total of 3,177 stocks declined, while 658 advanced and 86 remained unchanged. The domestic market saw a sharp and abrupt sell-off in the second half, despite the positive trend in global peers. This is attributable to profit booking from the recent sharp rally stretching valuations of mid- and small-cap stocks, Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said. The recent uptick in crude prices prompted investors to book profits, he added.
On Tuesday, the BSE benchmark had gained 122.10 points or 0.17 percent, settling at 71,437.19 points, while the Nifty had increased by 34.45 points or 0.16 percent, reaching 21,453.10 points.
