Equity markets close in red; Sensex falls 207 points & Nifty ends at 18,211

In today's choppy trade, the Indian equity markets ended at the day's low amid weak global cues and heavy selling in late trade on Wednesday, October 27, 2021. However, the Sensex remained above the 61,000-mark while the Nifty remained above the 18,200 level.

The S&P BSE Sensex fell 206.93 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 61,143.33. The Nifty 50 index was down 57.45 points, or 0.31 per cent, to 18,210.15. Nifty Bank gave up 363.95 points, or 0.88 per cent, to close at 40,874.35.

The broader markets at the BSE underperformed the Sensex with S&P BSE MidCap closing almost flat 0.02 per cent high and S&P BSE SmallCap rising 0.30 per cent.

The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1,778 shares rose and 1,471 shares fell. On the Nifty 50 index at the NSE, 23 shares advanced and 27 shares declined. The top five gainers on Nifty were Asian Paints (up 4.12 per cent), UPL (up 3.75 per cent), Divi's Laboratories (up 2.29 per cent), SBI Life (up 1.53 per cent) and Cipla (up 1.51 per cent). The top five losers were Axis Bank (down 6.48 per cent), Bajaj Finance (down 4.81 per cent), ONGC (down 3.46 per cent), Tata Motors (down 2.33 per cent) and Bajaj Finserv (down 2.03 per cent).

Economy

The UK, Finance Minister Rishi Sunak is expected to deliver his budget later in the session. The half-yearly update on the country's public finances is expected to bring increased spending on health care, transport and a rise in public sector pay.

In the US, the consumer confidence index increased to 113.8 in October from 109.8 in September as concerns about high inflation were offset by improving labour market prospects.

Germany expects growth this year to be significantly weaker than predicted, as the lingering effects of the pandemic and a supply squeeze hinder a revival of Europe's biggest economy. The cut in the 2021 outlook to 2.6 per cent -- compared with a prediction of 3.5 per cent published at the end of April -- reflects a scarcity in some raw materials and rising energy prices, particularly for gas, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Wednesday in an interview. The government expects a boom to take effect only next year, and has raised its forecast for 2022 GDP growth to above 4 per cent from 3.6 per cent, added Mr Altmaier.