Sensex tanks nearly 1,200 pts, Nifty sinks below crucial 24,000 mark as sell-off deepens; what next?

Domestic equity benchmarks suffered sharp losses in afternoon deals on Wednesday, as the sell-off deepened in the second half of the day, amid across-the-board weakness. Most analysts noted that elevated crude oil prices and growing domestic supply concerns have dimmed hopes for an early end to global market disruptions from the West Asia conflict.

The Sensex fell as much as 1,197.5 points or 1.5 per cent to 77,008.5 while the Nifty50 slipped to as low as 23,913.5, giving up the psychologically important 24,000 mark. The 50-scrip index lost 348.2 or 1.4 per cent at its intraday low.

The Nifty Bank -- whose 14 constituents include stocks of banking heavyweights SBI and HDFC Bank -- plunged as much as 1,052.9 points or 1.8 per cent to 55,897.9.

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As many as 38 Nifty50 stocks struggled below the flatline as the market entered the final 90 minutes of trade. The top losers were the Bajaj twins, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Eicher Motors, Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors PV and Bharti Airtel -- trading between 2.2 per cent and 4.2 per cent lower -- were the worst hit among the losers.

On the flipside, Jio Financial Services, Coal India Ltd (CIL), NTPC, Dr Reddy's Labs, ONGC, PowerGrid and Wipro -- trading between 0.8 per cent and 1.4 per cent higher -- were the top gainers in the basket.

Broader indices displayed mixed trends. The Nifty Midcap 100 was down 0.9 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap 100 was flat.

Overall market breadth was neutral, as 2,077 stocks rose while 2,055 fell on BSE.

EDITOR'S TAKE | What's hurting the market? Key levels to track in Nifty50 and Nifty Bank

Zee Business Managing Editor Anil Singhvi pointed out that the absence of positive news in the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict amid diminishing hopes of an early end to the war, battered the market sentiment.

Discussing the main negative cues prevalent on Dalal Street, he noted that crude oil continues to be strong near the $90 mark, with no improvement towards normal movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

'Nifty50 snapped key support at 24,300'

The market wizard also pointed out that the market sentiment weakened after the Nifty50 gave up key support at 24,300.

He also listed other factors contributing to the fall, as follows:

• No major support from Wall Street or Dow futures
• Continuous FII outflows regardless of market strength or weakness
• Rupee weakness vs dollar
• Spike in fear index India VIX
• Limited strength in the banking space
• Rate-sensitive stocks such as banks, autos and realty declined amid inflation concerns

Market Guru's Outlook | Key levels to track in Nifty50 and Nifty Bank

According to Singhvi, closing levels below 24,000 in Nifty50 and 56,000 in Nifty Bank will increase the downside risk in the market.

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