Mumbai, February 18 The benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty began trading on a negative note on Wednesday, tracking losses in IT and services stocks in a volatile session.
Following a bearish start, the 30-share BSE Sensex further declined by 247.92 points, or 0.30 percent, to close at 83,203.04.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped by 70.25 points, or 0.27 percent, to 25,655.15.
Among the Sensex constituents, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Eternal, Maruti Suzuki India, Asian Paints, Trent, HDFC Bank, IndiGo, Kotak Mahindra Bank, and ICICI Bank were the major laggards.
On the other hand, ITC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Electronics Ltd, State Bank of India, UltraTech Cement, Sun Pharmaceutical, and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.
"The volatility in IT stocks may continue, in response to incoming news related to the sector. Overall, IT stocks may remain weak due to the significant uncertainty surrounding the sector, and large institutional investors are unlikely to invest heavily in IT stocks unless valuations become compelling," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He added that there could be a shift away from IT towards other sectors like banking and financials, automobiles, telecom, and pharmaceuticals, where there is good earnings visibility.
In Asian markets, the Nikkei 225 benchmark in Japan was trading over 1 percent higher. Markets in China, Hong Kong, and South Korea remained closed for trading due to the Lunar New Year holidays.
The US equities market ended higher on Tuesday.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 995.21 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors purchased stocks worth Rs 187.04 crore, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose by 0.22 percent to USD 67.59 per barrel.
On Tuesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex climbed by 173.81 points to close at 83,450.96. The 50-share NSE Nifty advanced by 42.65 points to settle at 25,725.40.
