Sensex tanks 796 pts, Nifty closes below 20K on selling in HDFC Bank, RIL

Mumbai: Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled more than 1 per cent on Wednesday due to selling in index heavyweights in tandem with weak global trends ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.

Falling for the second day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 796 points or 1.18 per cent to settle at 66,800.84. During the day, it tanked 868.7 points or 1.28 per cent to 66,728.14. The NSE Nifty declined 231.90 points or 1.15 per cent to end below the 20,000 mark at 19,901.40. US bond yields surging to 16-year high levels and fears of high crude oil prices fueling commodity inflation also hit the investor sentiment, according to analysts. Fresh foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of a host of interest rate decisions from global central banks also added to the overall bearish trend. Besides the US Fed meeting, the BoE (Bank of England) and the BoJ (Bank of Japan) are also scheduled to meet this week. Among the Sensex firms, HDFC Bank emerged as the biggest loser, falling 4 per cent. JSW Steel, Reliance Industries, UltraTech Cement, Maruti, Tata Steel, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel and Larsen & Toubro were the other major laggards.

Power Grid, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, NTPC, ITC and Infosys were among the gainers. "The domestic markets remained under pressure due to rising US bond yields and a stronger greenback. Concerns reigned over upcoming FED policy, interest rate trajectory and rising oil prices. "Bank Nifty underperformed today due to rising cost of funds and reduction in deposits leading to moderation in net yield," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge fell by 0.51 per cent and midcap index declined 0.33 per cent. Among the indices, financial services fell by 1.39 per cent, commodities dropped 1.39 per cent, metal (1.25 per cent), realty (1.20 per cent), bankex (1.05 per cent), telecommunication (0.95 per cent) and oil & gas (0.68 per cent). Utilities and power were the gainers. In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower while Seoul settled with gains. European markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended in negative territory on Tuesday. Global oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.23 per cent to USD 93.18 a barrel even as supply concerns remain due to production cuts announced by Saudi Arabia and Russia. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,236.51 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Snapping its 11-day rally, the BSE benchmark fell 241.79 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 67,596.84 on Monday. The broader Nifty declined 59.05 points or 0.29 per cent to end at 20,133.30. Equity markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.