Equity market opens on negative note; Sensex slides 225 points

MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday amid mixed trends in global markets as investors remained cautious awaiting cues on the interest rate trajectory in the US.

BSE Sensex slumped 225.95 points or 0.37 per cent to 60,806.31 points while NSE Nifty dropped 54.50 points to 17,875.35 points.

Except for eight stocks, including Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Maruti, rest of the 22 shares in the Sensex pack were trading in the negative territory.

The negative opening for the domestic market comes a day after the 30-share Sensex surged 600.42 points or 0.99 per cent to close at 61,032.26 points on Tuesday.

The broader NSE Nifty too had jumped 158.95 points or 0.89 per cent to finish at 17,929.85 points.

On Wednesday, Asian stocks, including in Japan, China and Hong Kong, were trading in the red. On Tuesday, European and US markets closed on a mixed note.

Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said Asian stocks and US equity futures fell on Wednesday as investors weighed hot American inflation data and mixed commentary from central bankers on the outlook for interest rates.

In the US, the January consumer-price index showed the cost of living rising 6.4 per cent year-over-year, down from 6.5 per cent in December but higher than the Wall Street forecast of 6.2 per cent.

Foreign Portfolio Investors were net buyers, acquiring shares worth Rs 1,305.30 crore on Tuesday.