Mumbai, Mar 23 (PTI) Paring its early gains, benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 304 points on Wednesday as investors booked profit after recent gains amid concerns over inflation and supply constraints.
Despite a firm start, the 30-share BSE barometer declined by 304.48 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 57,684.82. During the day, it tanked 420.71 points or 0.72 per cent to 57,568.59.
The broader NSE Nifty dipped 69.85 points or 0.4 per cent to finish at 17,245.65.
Among Sensex stocks, HDFC fell the most by 2.36 per cent. Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki India, Mahindra & Mahindra and Asian Paints also declined.
In contrast, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Tata Steel, ITC and Power Grid were the prominent gainers.
“After the recent rally, market is getting cautious. Volatility is back due to inflationary pressures triggered by supply constraints. While consistently rising input cost & fall in demand due to surge in Covid cases in parts of the world, war & high commodity prices are impacting earnings growth which can lead to downgrade in outlook,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
In the previous trade, the BSE Sensex closed up by 696.81 points or 1.22 per cent at 57,989.30. The Nifty climbed 197.90 points or 1.16 per cent to finish at 17,315.50.
Equity exchanges in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai ended with gains after the US stocks ended largely higher in the overnight session. European stocks were also trading higher.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.12 per cent to USD 117.8 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers as they bought shares worth Rs 384.48 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.
