Sensex, Nifty tumble over 1% during afternoon session

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty were trading sharply lower during afternoon session on Wednesday after a day's breather as investors' sentiment remained cautious amid the ongoing tensions in West Asia and sustained foreign fund outflows.

Besides, selling in blue-chip bank stocks also drove the markets lower.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,045.15 points or 1.33 per cent to 77,160.83. The 50-share NSE Nifty tanked 290 points or 1.19 per cent to 23,971.60.

From the 30-Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards.

Sun Pharma, NTPC, Adani Ports and Power Grid were among the gainers.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.06 per cent to USD 87.75 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,672.64 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data. Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), however bought stocks worth Rs 6,333.26 crore.

"Although equity markets staged a technical rebound on Tuesday, the underlying sentiment remains cautious as the deepening crisis in the Middle East begins to influence global financial markets through higher energy prices, disruptions to key shipping routes, and shifting investor risk appetite," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.

From an equity market standpoint, geopolitical disruptions of this nature tend to trigger sharp bouts of volatility as global investors rotate toward safer assets and reduce exposure to risk-sensitive markets, he added.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded over 1 per cent higher. Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index were also quoting in positive territory.

The US market ended flat on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the Sensex jumped 639.82 points or 0.82 per cent to settle at 78,205.98. The Nifty climbed 233.55 points or 0.97 per cent to end at 24,261.60.