| Selling in blue chips dragged the market down to close in the negative territory, brokers said. Banking, technology, metal, oil and consumer durables counters were among the biggest losers on Wednesday while select FMCG scrips recorded some gains. |
| The BSE Sensex hit a high of 6358.59 and a low of 6258.07 in intra-day trades before finally closing at 6278.50 points, down 61.48 points (0.97 per cent) from its previous close. |
| Among frontline counters, 22 out of the 30-scrip Sensex basket closed lower. The breadth of the market was also negative, with losers outpacing gainers 15:9 on the BSE. |
| Volumes were higher than on Tuesday, with a turnover of Rs 2,255.91 crore recorded on the BSE and Rs 4,809.32 crore on the NSE. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers of Indian shares worth Rs 55 crore on Tuesday while domestic mutual funds were net buyers to the tune of Rs 80 crore. |
| A dealer from a local brokerage house said, "Despite a better than expected result from heavyweight Reliance Industries, investors seem to have played safe, booking profits at higher levels. The expiry of the current month's futures contracts on Thursday is also leading to some volatility as investors cover their positions." |
| The market opened weak on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's losses, taking a cue from Indian technology ADRs, analysts said. |
| ICICI Bank was the biggest loser in the Sensex basket, falling 4.77 per cent to close at Rs 384.35, Maruti Udyog was down 2.90 per cent to Rs 418.60, Tata Steel fell 2.47 per cent to Rs 349.85, Infosys Technologies was down 2 per cent to Rs 1,919.85, ONGC was down 1.91 per cent to Rs 831.55 and Reliance Industries was down 1.48 per cent to Rs 539.10. |
| Cipla was the biggest gainer in the Sensex basket, rising 4.49 per cent to Rs 254.70, HLL was up 3.48 per cent to Rs 142.75, ITC gained 1.57 per cent to Rs 1,401.50, HDFC was up 1.16 per cent to Rs 730.50 and Bajaj Auto gained 1.11 per cent to Rs 1,094.95. |
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