Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Wednesday amid mixed trends in global markets as investors remained cautious awaiting cues on the interest rate trajectory in the US.
BSE Sensex slumped by 225.95 points or 0.37 percent to reach 60,806.31 points while NSE Nifty dropped by 54.50 points to end at 17,875.35 points.
The negative opening for the domestic market comes a day after the 30-share Sensex surged 600.42 points or 0.99 percent to close at 61,032.26 points on February 14. The broader NSE Nifty too had jumped 158.95 points or 0.89 percent to finish at 17,929.85 points. Foreign Portfolio Investors were net buyers, acquiring shares worth Rs 1,305.30 crore on February 14.
Except for eight stocks, including Reliance Industries, State Bank of India and Maruti, rest of the 22 shares in the Sensex pack were trading in the negative territory.
On Wednesday, Asian stocks, including in Japan, China and Hong Kong, were trading in the red. On February 14, European and US markets closed on a mixed note.
In the US, the January consumer-price index showed the cost of living rising 6.4 percent year-over-year, down from 6.5 percent in December but higher than the Wall Street forecast of 6.2 percent.
Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC securities, said Asian stocks and US equity futures fell on Wednesday as investors weighed hot American inflation data and mixed commentary from central bankers on the outlook for interest rates.
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