Sensex falls over 200 points, Nifty tests 21,600; National Aluminium, Vodafone Idea & Mphasis slip up to 3%

Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in Wednesday's early deals amid weak global cues. The domestic indices were dragged by technology, metals and banks. The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 217 points or 0.30 per cent to trade at 71,676, while the NSE Nifty was down 59 points or 0.27 per cent to trade at 21,607. Broader markets (mid- and small-cap shares) were, however, up as Nifty Midcap 100 climbed 0.05 per cent and small-cap rose 0.06 per cent.

On the global front, Asian shares slipped for the second session in a row, continuing a global sell-off. Overnight, Wall Street settled lower. Global markets slid as optimism about early US interest rate cuts ebbed ahead of the release of Federal Reserve minutes and jobs data.

Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought Rs 1,602.16 crore worth of shares on a net basis during the previous session, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold Rs 1,959.04 crore worth of shares, exchange data showed.

Nine out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the red. Sub-indexes IT, Nifty Metal and Nifty Bank were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 0.93 per cent, 0.58 per cent and 0.36 per cent, respectively. On the flip side, Nifty Oil & Gas rose 0.48 per cent.

On the stock-specific front, JSW Steel was the top loser in the Nifty pack as the stock cracked 2.43 per cent to trade at Rs 849.05. Tata Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Wipro and Hindalco fell up to 1.83 per cent.

In contrast, Adani Enterprises, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finserv, ITC and BPCL were among the top gainers. Adani Group shares will be in focus today as the Supreme Court is set to pronounce its the much-awaited verdict on the Adani- Hindenburg row.

The overall market breadth was strong as 1,532 shares were advancing while 692 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Infosys, ICICI Bank, TCS, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Axis Bank, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top laggards.

Also, National Aluminium, Vodafone Idea, Mphasis, Macrotech Developers and PNB tanked up to 3.02 per cent. On the other hand, Adani Energy Solutions (formerly known as Adani Transmission), Alok Industries, Adani Total Gas, FDC, Adani Wilmar, Adani Green Energy and Adani Power jumped up to 9.62 per cent.

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Also read: Adani stocks rally up to 10% ahead of SC verdict on Hindenburg case; Adani, Energy Solutions,  Adani Total Gas, Adani Power, Adani Enterprises shares gain the most