Sensex falls 159 points; Nifty settles below 17,650; Gland Pharma rises 15%, ICICI Lombard drops 6%

Bears continued to tighten their grip on Dalal Street as the benchmark indices settled lower for the third straight session in a row, thanks to mixed global cues. Traders are awaiting the results of India Inc along with their guidance. Also, the rate hike path by central banks will also guide the direction of markets.

For the day, the 30-share pack BSE Sensex dropped another 159.21 points, or 0.27 per cent, to settle at 59,567.80. NSE's Nifty declined 41.40 points, or 0.23 per cent, to close at 17,618.75. Broader markets settled mixed as the BSE midcap index was down, while the smallcap index ended in green. Fear gauge India VIX rose about a per cent to 12.15-level.

Markets settled marginally lower in a dull trading session, in continuation to the prevailing consolidation phase.  After the flat start, Nifty hovered in a narrow range and finally closed at 17,618.75 levels. The broader indices also took a breather and ended almost unchanged, said Ajit Mishra, VP - Technical Research, Religare Broking.

"We are seeing a healthy consolidation in the index and expect the same to end soon. However, prevailing underperformance of select sectors like IT and energy might cap the momentum in the following sessions. Meanwhile, participants should continue with a stock-specific approach," he said.

On the sectoral front, Nifty IT and media indices shed 2 per cent, each, while Nifty PSU Bank index settled a per cent lower. Nifty metal index was the top gainer, followed by a mild rise in Nifty Oil & Gas, Realty, Financial Services and Pharma indices.

On the Nifty50 pack, HCL Technologies, Infosys and IndusInd Bank dropped over 2 per cent, each, while SBI Life Insurance, NTPC and Wipro were among the other top losers. On the contrary, Bharat Petroleum and Divis Labs rose 2 per cent, each, followed by a one per cent rise in Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra.

The dark clouds of weak Q4 numbers are haunting the domestic market leading to a consecutive third fall in the week. IT stocks continued their selling spree ahead of the release of earnings from other tech majors, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

"Tepid cues from the global peers are also creating havoc as the market prices in the possibility of another rate hike by the Fed. The biggest risk for the market today is a downgrade in the corporate earnings forecast," he said.

A total of 3,634 shares were traded on BSE on Wednesday of which 1,817 settled with gains. 1,695 stocks ended the session lower, while 122 shares remained unchanged. A total of 237 shares hit their upper circuit, whereas 117 tested the lower circuit levels for the day.

In the broader markets, EKI Energy Services hit a lower circuit of 5 per cent even as it announced plans to incorporate a wholly owned subsidiary. Brightcom Group was also locked in a lower circuit of 5 per cent for the third straight session after Sebi's show cause notice and interim order. ICICI Lombard GIC tanked 5 per cent after a flop show in Q4.

On the contrary, Patel Engineering surged 18 per cent, while Gland Pharma soared over 15 per cent amid the low-level buying. KRBL settled 12 per cent higher, Prism Johnson settled 12 per cent higher. Caplin Point Laboratories added 11 per cent for the day.

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