The Nifty ended marginally lower on Wednesday, dragged down by a late-hour fall in Reliance Industries, while losses in IT stocks ahead of Tata Consultancy Services’ quarterly earnings added to the pressure.
The benchmark Nifty 50 index fell 46 points to close at 25,476, while the Sensex declined 176 points to 83,536. The Nifty Bank index also edged lower by 43 points to 57,214. The broader Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 76 points to end at 59,340.
Reliance slipped sharply in the final hour of trade, weighing heavily on the benchmark index. IT stocks were under pressure with the Nifty IT index shedding 1%, as investors turned cautious ahead of TCS’ Q1 earnings report due Tuesday.
Gains in select non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and FMCG majors offered some support to the market. Shriram Finance and Hindustan Unilever were among the top gainers on the Nifty.
GAIL (India) Ltd closed at the day’s low after a Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board member indicated that a key tariff order may be announced within one to two months.
Shares of Phoenix Mills and Godrej Properties declined following bearish brokerage notes.
Union Bank of India fell 4% after the lender reported a weak business update for the June quarter.
Vedanta Group companies closed in the red but recovered from intraday lows after a short seller report surfaced.
Gold financing companies slipped as bullion prices fell, with Manappuram Finance among the top losers.
Nykaa, despite weak sentiment in the broader market, ended with gains of 6%, making it one of the top midcap performers.
Shares of Indian Energy Exchange rose 4% after government sources downplayed market coupling as a major reform in the power sector.
Container Corporation of India saw buying interest following a strong update from its EXIM segment for the June quarter.
Laurus Labs hit a 52-week high and has gained nearly 10% over the past seven sessions, while Force Motors and SML Isuzu rallied between 7–9%.
Market breadth was neutral, with the advance-decline ratio at 1:1, indicating an evenly matched session between gainers and losers.
