Despite RIL show, indices end lower as bank stocks weigh

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex languished for the second straight session on Wednesday, largely in tandem with Asian markets as a rout on Wall Street and AstraZeneca pausing its Covid-19 vaccine trials spooked investors.

A strong showing by index heavyweight Reliance Industries -- which rallied after announcing 1.75 per cent stake sale in its retail arm to US private equity firm Silver Lake Partners for Rs 7,500 crore -- was not enough to offset the weakness in banking, IT and finance counters. After slumping 430.09 points during the day, the 30-share BSE benchmark recovered some lost ground to end at 38,193.92, down 171.43 points or 0.45 per cent. In similar movement, the NSE Nifty settled 39.35 points or 0.35 per cent lower at 11,278.

"A selloff in US tech stocks and a setback to one of the vaccine trials kept markets on edge. Indian markets are expected to be in sync with the global markets and also react to the on-going border tensions with China. There are currently no fresh triggers for the market, and we can expect volatility," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.