Equity markets consolidated near record high levels on Wednesday as investors awaited the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting, due later in the day. Moreover, a rally in crude oil price, which is hovering above $74 per barrel-mark, also had a bearing on the sentiment.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex traded within a band of 391 points before settling the day at 52,502 levels, down 271 points or 0.5 per cent. On the NSE, the Nifty50 index erased 102 points, or 0.64 per cent, to close at 15,767 levels.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap index slipped 0.95 per cent while the BSE SmallCap index dipped 0.68 per cent.
Market breadth was skewed towards bears as approximately 1,800 scrips declined on the BSE compared with 1,400 scrips that advanced. In the large-cap universe, Adani Ports, Hindalco, JSW Steel, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid and Reliance Industries were the top laggards while Adani Enterprises, LIC Housing Finance, Adani Transmission, Future Retail, Future Consumer, and Suprajit Engineering were the worst performing stocks in the mid- and small-cap segment.
Among individual stocks, shares of Infosys rose over 1 per cent to hit a record high of Rs 1,489 on the BSE in intra-day trade today, surpassing its previous high of Rs 1,480, touched on April 12, 2021. In the past one week, the stock has gained 5 per cent, while it has rallied 13 per cent in one month.
That apart, shares of Jubilant FoodWorks rallied 5 per cent to hit a record high of Rs 3,332 on the BSE in intra-day after the company reported over three-fold jump in its consolidated net profit at Rs 105.30 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2021 (Q4FY21).
On the downside, shares of three Adani Group companies - Adani Power (Rs 127.25), Adani Transmission (Rs 1,369.35) and Adani Total Gas (Rs 1,394) – were locked in lower circuit for the third straight day, down 5 per cent each, on the BSE. Besides, Adani Enterprises and Adani Ports tanked up to 8 per cent each in intra-day trade.
Moreover, shares of LIC Housing Finance tumbled 5.5 per cent to Rs 493 on the BSE in intra-day trade as investors booked profit after the company reported a good set of numbers for the March quarter (Q4FY21) on the operating and business growth front. However, a steep rise in provisions dented profitability.
Lastly, shares of Reliance Industries ended 1.7 per cent lower on the BSE after a Bloomberg report said chairman Mukesh Ambani’s plan to conquer the Indian market with a locally assembled Google-powered smartphone is facing headwinds, with supply-chain disruptions and rising component prices suppressing production volumes.
Sectorally, the Nifty Metal index skidded 3 per cent on the NSE on a report that China has ordered state firms to curb overseas commodity exposure. A Reuters report also said China may release State reserves for Copper, Aluminum, and Zinc.
That apart, the Nifty PSU Bank and Realty indices dropped over 1 per cent each. On the contrary, the Nifty FMCG and IT indices gained 0.5 per cent and 0.25 per cent, respectively.
In the primary market, the three day issue of Dodla Dairy sailed through on the very first day and was fully subscribed on Day 1 while that of KIMS garnered 23 per cent subscription till 4:30 PM.
Besides, the issues of Shyam Metalics and Sona Comstar, which close today, commanded an oversubscription of 121 times and 2 times, respectively.
Global cues
Asian shares were subdued on Wednesday with investors wary of any hint of hawkishness from the US Federal Reserve given lofty asset valuations rely so heavily on an endless supply of super-cheap money.
Japan's Nikkei ended 0.5 per cent lower and China's Shanghai Index dipped 1 per cent. South Korea's Kospi and Australia's ASX200, on the other hand, gained 0.6 per cent and 0.01 per cent, respectively.
In Europe, gains in financial and industrial stocks lifted indices, with the pan-European STOXX 600 up 0.2 per cent.
 "Market Wrap Podcast, June 16: Here's all that happened in the markets today")
