Closing bell: Sensex loses 185 points, Nifty slips below 16,600 mark

BSE Sensex sealed in red after a volatile day, losing 185 points to close at 55,381 levels.

In the midst of turbulence, the benchmark barometers continued losing their streak into the second trading session and closed with minor losses on Wednesday. Nifty achieved the day's high of 16,649 but the index dropped lower as the session went; eventually, settling above the 16,550 mark. Healthcare, IT, and pharma sectors witnessed selling pressure while PSU banks, financial services & consumer durables were in the green. NSE's India VIX, which measures market expectations of near-term volatility, increased 1.79 per cent to 20.85.  

BSE Sensex sealed in red after a volatile day, losing 185 points to close at 55,381 levels. BSE Midcap index too dropped 24 points to end the day at 23,119 levels. On the flip side, BSE Smallcap index saw an increase of 163 points to close at 26,534 levels. The top stocks on BSE Sensex today were Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, HDFC, and HDFC Bank. However, the top losing stocks were Nestle India, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharmaceutical, and HCL Technologies.      

Nifty 50 also ended with a red mark at 16,522 levels, falling by a mere 61 points. On the other hand, Bank Nifty soared 133 points to close the day at 35,620 levels. The top gaining stocks were JSW Steel, Coal India, HDFC Life Insurance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and Mahindra & Mahindra. On the contrary, the Top Losers were Bajaj Auto, Apollo Hospitals, Hindalco Industries, Tech Mahindra, and Bajaj Finserv.    

The total stocks traded today were 3,462, out of which, 1,847 advanced and 1,482 stocks declined. There were 133 stocks that were unchanged. The number of stocks that were locked in the upper circuit was 293 while 185 stocks hit their lower circuits today. The number of stocks that hit a new 52-week high is 69 while 38 stocks made a fresh 52-week low today.   

Dow Jones futures were up by 125 points, signalling that the US stock market would open higher today. On Wednesday, most of the European stocks rose but Asian indices were divided, as investors weighed new data on inflation and economic activity.