Markets close in red; Sensex drops 163 points & Nifty closes at 16,569

Key equity indices ended a volatile trading session with small losses on Wednesday, August 18, 2021. The S&P BSE Sensex slipped 162.78 points or 0.29 per cent to shut at 55,629.49. The Nifty 50 index declined 45.75 points or 0.28 per cent to 16,568.60. The Nifty Bank lost 312.95 points or 0.87 per cent to close at 35,554.50.

Broader markets showcased a mixed trend at the BSE. THE S&P BSE MidCap index added 0.26 per cent, while the S&P BSE SmallCap lost 0.18 per cent.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,101 shares rose and 2,079 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at NSE, 20 shares rose and 30 shares fell. The top five gainers on Nifty were Eicher Motors (up 2.66 per cent), UltraTech Cement (up 2.44 per cent), Bajaj Finance (up 12.09 per cent), Adani Ports (up 1.71 per cent) and Grasim (up 1.62 per cent). The top five losers were Kotak Bank (down 2.31per cent), Hindalco (down 2.30 per cent), ICICI Bank (down 2.04 per cent), SBI Life (down 1.83 per cent) and Tata Motors (down 1.53 per cent).

COVID-19 update

Total COVID-19 confirmed cases worldwide were at 20,86,09,830 with 43,82,461 deaths. India reported 3,67,415 active cases of COVID-19 infection and 4,32,519 deaths while 3,14,85,923 patients have been discharged, data showed.

Economy

The Federal Open Market Committee will publish its meeting minutes from its July meeting on Wednesday. The market participants will be looking for clues about the central bank's stance on inflation and when it could suspend its bond-buying programme.

Spending at US retailers fell sharply in July, amid cooling purchases of goods and signs of some pullback in consumer demand as US COVID-19 cases tied to the Delta variant rose. Retail sales declined 1.1 per cent in July, a reversal from June's 0.7 per cent increase, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand announced on Wednesday that it would keep its monetary settings unchanged, leaving the official cash rate at 0.25 per cent.

Japan's government on Tuesday decided to extend the COVID-19 state of emergency in Tokyo and other areas till September 12, 2021.

UK inflation eased in July in what is widely seen as a blip on its way to double the Bank of England's target this year. Consumer prices fell back to the 2% goal for the first time since April, data showed.