Sensex falls for 4th day, ends 667 points down; Nifty slips to 22,704

Mumbai, May 29

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday, continuing their losing streak for the fourth day running amid profit-taking by cautious investors ahead of the results of the Lok Sabha polls and weak global trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 667.55 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 74,502.90. The index declined below the 75,000 mark to hit the day’s low of 74,454.55, plunging 715.9 points or 0.95 per cent. The BSE benchmark hit its all-time peak of 76,009.68 on May 27.

The NSE Nifty dropped 183.45 points or 0.80 per cent to 22,704.70 amid high volatility. The 50-share barometer hit its lifetime high of 23,110.80 on Monday.

From the Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, Axis Bank, Reliance Industries and Infosys were the biggest laggards.

Power Grid, Sun Pharma, Nestle, ITC and Bharti Airtel were the gainers. “Weak global cues prompted investors to take profits ahead of the US core PCE data, a key gauge of inflation that is anticipated to rise,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.

“Markets continued their corrective trend for another session, losing over half a per cent. After an initial drop, Nifty fluctuated within a range and ultimately closed near the day’s low at 22,704.70 level. With the May derivatives contracts expiry approaching, volatility is expected to remain high,” said Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

Analysts also said that soaring global inflation is diminishing investor expectations of a US Fed rate cut in the near term. Broad based weakness is noticed across the sectors with heavy underperformance from financials and IT. —PTI

Paytm shares jump 5%, hit upper circuit

New Delhi: Shares of One97 Communications, which owns Paytm brand, on Wednesday morning jumped 5% to hit its upper circuit limit, amid media reports that the Adani Group may acquire a stake in the fintech firm. The reports have been denied by both the fintech firm and the Adani Group. The stock climbed 4.99% to Rs 359.55 — its upper circuit limit — on the BSE. At the NSE, it rallied 4.99 per cent to Rs 359.45.