Heavy profit booking across most of the sectors on Wednesday pushed the benchmark Sensex slid by 185 points to three week low of 22,323.90. The broader index Nifty also fell by 62.75 points to 6,652.55. The rupee on the other hand, rose to above Rs 60 per dollar to Rs 59.96 per dollar but surrendered the gain to settle the day lower by a marginal two paise at Rs 60.13 per dollar due to sudden dollar buying towards the session end.
Brokers said selling pressure intensified after UBS downgraded IT major Infosys to 'sell' and slashed the target price by a steep 32 per cent. Infosys shares plunged 3.15 per cent at close, which also impacted other IT stocks.Markets remained on bearish mode during the entire day day after a weak opening amid poor global cues. The Sensex resumed lower at 22,488.96 remained under pressure before settling the day at 22,323.90, a loss of 184.52 points or 0.82 per cent.
Besides Infosys, HDFC lost 2.75 per cent, Hindalco 2.20 per cent, Cipla 2.07 per cent, Gail India 1.80 per cent, Wipro 1.77 per cent, Bajaj Auto 1.60 per cent, TCS 1.48 per cent, Maruti Suzuki 1.46 per cent, Bharti Airtel 1.36 per cent and Tata Power 1.03 per cent.Among BSE sectoral indices, IT fell by 2.59 per cent, followed by teck 2.23 per cent, realty 1.11 per cent, metal 0.71 per cent and Auto 0.70 per cent. Brokers said lowing down of foreign capital inflows also impacted the market sentiment.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 119.11 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data from stock exchanges. The market breadth remained negative as 1,493 stocks finished with losses, 1,234 stocks ended with gains while 137 rueld steady. The total turnover rose to Rs 2,789.65 crores from Rs 1,958.07 crores yesterday.
Meanwhile, Gold prices rose by Rs 50 to Rs 30,750 per ten gram in the national capital on sustained buying by stockists to meet ongoing marriage season demand amid a firming global trend. Silver also moved up by Rs 100 to Rs 42,800 per kg on increased off take by industrial units and coin makers. Traders said continued buying by stockists driven by ongoing marriage season mainly led to rise in gold and silver prices.