Sensex, Nifty Snap Long Winning Streak, End Modestly Lower

(RTTNews) - Indian shares drifted lower on Wednesday on weak global cues amid caution ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement later in the day.

Concerns about interest rate hikes and the likely impact on global economic growth outweighed data showing a significant expansion in India's services sector growth.

The benchmark BSE Sensex, which plunged to a low of 61,024.44, losing about 330 points, ended the session with a loss of 161.41 points or 0.26% at 61,193.30, snapping an 8-day winning streak.

The broader Nifty50 index of the National Stock Exchange snapped a 6-session winning streak and settled with a loss of 57.80 points or 0.32% at 18,089.85, nearly 50 points off the session's low of 18,042.40.

In economic news, India's service sector activity increased significantly in April to reach its highest level in over a decade, underpinned by strong demand conditions, results of the purchasing managers' survey by S&P Global showed.

The services Purchasing Managers' Index, or PMI, climbed to 62.0 in April from 57.8 in March. A score above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

Technology, metal, oil and PSU bank stocks were among the prominent losers today. FMCG stocks found some support.

Bharti Airtel, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro and Tata Consultancy Services lost 1 to 1.6%.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries, Reliance Industries, State Bank of India, Wipro, Infosys and HCL Technologies shed 0.6 to 1%.

Tata Steel recovered from the day's lows and ended lower by 0.45%. The steelmaker reported a net profit of Rs 1,566 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 2023, compared with net profit of Rs 9,835 crore in the year-ago quarter.

Adani Ports drifted down by about 2%. ONGC also lost nearly 2%, while UPL declined 1.7%. HDFC Life, SBI Life, Hindalco and JSW Steel also ended notably lower.

Hind Unilever climbed more than 1.5%. Asian Paints, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, ITC, Nestle and Kotak Bank gained 0.5 to 1.1%.

Ambuja Cements ended more than 3% down after reporting a 2.1% decline in quarterly earnings.

MRF Ltd shares surged more than 5.5% after the company reported a whopping 106.2% jump in fourth-quarter net profit.

Shares of Adani Group companies ended weak after Adani Wilmar reported a 56% decline in its standalone net profit for the March quarter. Adani Wilmar lost 5%. Adani Enterprises, Adani Power, Adani Total Gas, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone and Adani Green Energy, all drifted lower.

The market breadth was neutral. On BSE, 1,718 stocks moved higher and 1,779 stocks ended weak, while 155 stocks closed flat.