Lingering concerns over the global economic outlook and relatively expensive valuations of Indian equities versus global peers weighed on the Indian stock market for a third consecutive session Wednesday. A bout of volatility also dragged stocks southwards ahead of the expiry of near-month F&O contracts on Thursday.
The 30-share BSE Sensex ended down 132 points or 0.72% near the day's low at 18,180, with 23 of its components ending in the red. The 50-share S&P Nifty fell 43 points or 0.78% to 5,462. The broader indexes such as the BSE small-cap and mid-cap indexes fell about 1.5% each, indicating a cautious undertone.
Realty stocks continued to underperform. Consumer durable, auto, healthcare and metal stocks followed suit on profit taking, while IT stocks closed on a flat note after the Indian rupee fell to a one-month low against the dollar. Banking stocks closed mostly lower after the RBI vowed to take appropriate policy actions to anchor inflationary expectations.
Select FMCG stocks like Nestle India, Godrej Consumer Products, Tata Global Beverages and ITC closed firm on defensive buying. Telecom giant Bharti Airtel fell 1.61% on profit taking following recent gains.
DLF (down 3.35%), Tata Steel (down 3.22%), Hindalco (down 2.97%), Cipla (down 2.63%), Hero Honda Motors (down 2.32%) and Jaiprakash Associates (down 2.16%) were among the prominent decliners.
Info Edge (India), owner of job portal naukri.com, eased 0.98% after it proposed to invest Rs 4.7 crore in an online food guide and restaurant directory business. Religare Enterprises tumbled 4.48% to Rs.478.35 after its promoters proposed to acquire about 2.80 crore shares of the company via an open offer at Rs. 457 a share.
State Bank of Mysore, which plans to raise Rs 500 crore via a rights issue, ended down 2% on profit taking after recent sharp gains. Oil explorer Cairn India lost around 3% amid reports that state-run fuel companies are not making any counter offer for Cairn.
Scooters India rallied nearly 5% on buzz that Tata Motors and Piaggio are in the race to acquire a controlling stake in the public sector company. Mid-sized IT services firm Patni Computer Systems rose 2.27% after it secured a multi-million rupees contract to provide application management services to the Codan Group in Scandinavia.
Prakash Steelage climbed 70% to Rs. 187.95 on its debut. Brigade Enterprises added 3% on reports of share sale to institutional investors. Ind-Swift Laboratories rallied 3.53% ahead of a board meet today to consider a convertible-warrants issue to the promoters group. Edserv Softsystems edged up 0.62% after it became an authorized online training partner of Corel in India.
Elsewhere, Asian stocks extended losses on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei closing below the 9000 threshold for the second straight session, after a record plunge in U.S. home sales and a slowdown in Japanese export growth for a fifth month in July added to evidence the global economic recovery is faltering.
European stocks swung between gains and losses following Ireland's credit ratings downgrade, while the Dow futures pointed towards a higher open on Wall Street Wednesday after a sell-off in the previous session on another disappointing report on housing.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.