Markets decline nearly 1%; Sensex sinks 537 points

IT major Infosys dropped by 1.68 per cent, and Wipro by 1.91 per cent. Titan fell by 2.19 per cent, Dr Reddy's by 1.94 per cent,  UltraTech Cement by 1.63 per cent, M&M by 1.46 per cent and Maruti by 1.44 per cent.

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday due to profit booking in banking, financial and IT stocks after a recent rally.

The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 537.22 points or 0.94 per cent to end at 56,819.39 as 24 of its stocks declined. During the day, it tanked 772.57 points or 1.34 per cent to touch a low of 56,584.04.

The broader NSE Nifty declined by 162.40 points or 0.94 per cent to 17,038.40 with 39 of its constituents ending in the red.

Bajaj Finance was the biggest loser among Sensex stocks, dropping by 7.24 per cent.

Bajaj Finserve declined by 3.88 per cent, ICICI Bank by 2.21 per cent and SBI by 1.78 per cent.

IT major Infosys dropped by 1.68 per cent, and Wipro by 1.91 per cent. Titan fell by 2.19 per cent, Dr Reddy's by 1.94 per cent,  UltraTech Cement by 1.63 per cent, M&M by 1.46 per cent and Maruti by 1.44 per cent.

In contrast, Tata Steel rebounded by 1 per cent while Asian Paints, HCL Technologies, TCS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank also advanced.

"Market continued to be gripped by high volatility following a heavy selloff in the global markets led by elevated energy crisis and weak Chinese economic outlook underpinned by prospects of US rate hikes," Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services said.

"Investors are weighing the possibility of a global slowdown due to monetary tightening by central banks, lockdown in China and Russia -Ukraine war.

"This has resulted in an outflow of funds from equity markets to safe havens," Nair added.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.88 per cent and smallcap index dipped 0.61 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, power fell the most by 1.86 per cent, followed by utilities (1.81 per cent), telecom (1.72 per cent), finance (1.40 per cent) and oil and gas (1.24 per cent). Metal was the only gainer with a marginal gain of 0.02 per cent.

As many as 2,202 stocks declined, while 1,161 advanced and 120 remained unchanged.

Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd said that  stock markets plunged sharply lower in continuation of the prevailing consolidation phase.

"Global headwinds like the Russia-Ukraine crisis, China's lockdown, inflation worries and now earnings are causing erratic swings in markets across the globe including India," Mishra said.

Meanwhile, LIC set the price band at Rs 902-949 per share for its Rs 21,000 crore initial public offering (IPO), which will open for subscription on May 4.

"This (LIC IPO) is right sized, considering the capital market environment and will not crowd out capital supply given the current market environment," Pandey said.

Shivam Bajaj, founder & CEO at Avener Capital said the revision in the LIC IPO valuation amidst the volatile environment demonstrates the keenness of the government to deliver on the IPO.

"The revised IPO valuation can potentially unlock a favourable opportunity for investors towards wealth creation," Bajaj said.

Asian markets were mixed, with Tokyo and Seoul settling over 1 per cent lower, while Hong Kong and Shanghai ended higher.

Markets in Europe were trading in the green in the afternoon session.

Stocks in the US had ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

The Sensex had jumped 776.72 points or 1.37 per cent to end at 57,356.61 on Tuesday.

The Nifty rallied 246.85 points or 1.46 per cent to 17,200.80.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 0.89 per cent to $105.81 per barrel. Gas prices in Europe soared by 24 per cent after Russia said it would cut off supplies to Poland and Bulgaria.

Foreign institutional investors continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth Rs 1,174.05 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.