Sensex falls for 3rd day, dips 303 pts; Asian Paints sinks 8%; IT index 3%

On the NSE, the Nifty50 shut shop at 16,026, falling 99 points or 0.62 per cent. The benchmarks were dragged by selling pressure in IT, Pharma, PSU Banks, Metals, and Consumption-related stocks. For instance, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Divis Labs, UPL, Tech M, Wipro, TCS, Apollo Hospitals, JSW Steel, Infosys, Tata Motors, and M&M fell between 2 per cent and 8 per cent.

On the upside, NTPC, HDFC Life, SBI Life, Kotak Bank, Airtel, HDFC, Britannia Industries, and ONGC lent some support as their shares rose in the range of 1 to 4 per cent.

The broader markets, meanwhile, bled more with the BSE SmallCap index sliding nearly 3 per cent, and the BSE MidCap index falling close to 2 per cent. 

Sectorally, the Nifty IT index tumbled 3 per cent with individual stocks cracking up to 7 per cent after global brokerage Nomura downgraded the sector due to expected slowdown ahead. Besides, the Nifty Realty index fell 2.7 per cent, the Nifty Metal 1.7 per cent; and the Nifty Auto 0.9 per cent.  

Global cues

European stocks moved higher on Wednesday with the pan-European Stoxx 600 adding 0.6 per cent in early trade. On Wall Street, futures linked to main indices were flat with a negative bias.

Earlier in Asia, Nikkei slipped 0.26 per cent; Kospi added 0.4 per cent; ASX200 gained 0.37 per cent; and Hang Seng moved 0.29 per cent higher.