Sensex, Nifty in red; Power Grid jumps 4 per cent, CONCOR gains 5 per cent, Seamec tumbles

On Wednesday, the domestic benchmark indices halted their gaining streak as Sensex declined by 263.72 points or 0.54 per cent to close at 48,174.06 levels while Nifty fell by 53.25 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 14,146.25 levels.  

Bears dominated the domestic markets in the last hours of the trade as profit booking in heavyweights pulled down the indices amidst weak global cues.  

In the global markets, Asian indices such as Shanghai Composite index and Hang Seng gained by 0.63 per cent and 0.15 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, KOSPI and Nikkei declined by 0.75 per cent and 0.38 per cent, respectively. The rising cases of Coronavirus in the Asian countries weighed investors’ sentiments as Chinese authorities imposed travel restrictions to brace from the second wave of COVID-19 while local reports suggested that Japan government may declare a month-long emergency in Tokyo & neighbouring areas. European indices such as FTSE 100, DAX & CAC 40 were trading in the green, up by 1.87 per cent, 0.77 per cent & 0.78 per cent, respectively.  

Sensex gainers included Power Grid that jumped 4.34 per cent, Bharti Airtel surged 2.28 per cent, ONGC inched up by 2.11 per cent, UltraTech Cement gained 1.95 per cent, ICICI Bank rose by 1.80 per cent, SBI increased by 1.12 per cent, Larsen & Toubro strengthened by 0.59 per cent, etc.  

Sensex losers consisted of ITC that plunged 2.86 per cent, RIL slumped 2.64 per cent, Bajaj Finance went down by 1.82 per cent, Axis Bank declined by 1.48 per cent, HCL Technologies fell by 1.36 per cent, HUL decreased by 1.34 per cent, etc.  

Amongst the sectoral indices on BSE, the Metal index was the biggest gainer, up by 2.14 per cent while the energy index was the biggest loser, down by 2 per cent. In the broader markets, indices remained mixed as BSE Small-Cap index declined by 0.14 per cent whereas BSE Mid-Cap index gained by 0.39 per cent.