Mumbai, Oct 28: Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Wednesday, October 28. The BSE Sensex tumbled 601.14 points to 72,997.55 in early trade and the Nifty 50 tanked 146 points to 22,604.80, news agency PTI reported.

Source: PTI via DailyWorld

The Hindu BusinessLine's live market blog put the fall slightly deeper a few minutes into trade: at 9:19 am the Sensex was trading at 72,928.12, down 670.55 points or 0.91 per cent, and the Nifty at 22,591.85, down 157.90 points or 0.69 per cent. The Sensex had closed at 73,598.67 on Tuesday and opened at 73,253.44; the Nifty had ended Tuesday at 22,749.75 and opened at 22,678.00.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

72,997.55Sensex in early trade, down 601.14 points (PTI)
22,604.80Nifty 50 in early trade, down 146 points (PTI)
$115+Brent crude per barrel
95.03Rupee vs US dollar in early trade, up 4 paise (PTI)

Information technology stocks bore the heaviest selling. Infosys fell 4.53 per cent, Tech Mahindra dropped 3.88 per cent, HCL Technologies shed 3.82 per cent and Tata Consultancy Services declined 3.17 per cent in early trade, The Hindu BusinessLine reported. On the gainers' side, Larsen & Toubro rose 5.67 per cent, Bajaj Auto advanced 2.14 per cent and SBI Life Insurance gained 1.12 per cent.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

Analysts blamed crude oil and geopolitics. Brent crude edged up about 1.5 per cent following an attack on a Saudi Arabian refinery, reigniting supply concerns, while WTI traded around $100-101 a barrel. 'The market has turned decisively weak... Brent crude has again firmed up to above $115, which is bad news for the Indian economy and markets,' Dr V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments, said, as quoted by The Hindu BusinessLine.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine

The rupee, however, firmed in early trade: it rose 4 paise to 95.03 against the US dollar, PTI reported.

Source: PTI via DailyWorld

Investors are now tracking the US Federal Reserve's policy decision due tonight, where the central bank is widely expected to hold its benchmark rate at 3.75-4.00 per cent, and a heavy results day at home, with Hindustan Unilever, Adani Ports & SEZ, Adani Enterprises, Hyundai Motor India, Vedanta, TVS Motor and Hero MotoCorp among the companies scheduled to declare September-quarter results, The Hindu BusinessLine reported. The day's other big event, the listing of Jio Platforms after India's largest-ever IPO, is being watched for whether the debut stock can hold its listing premium through the session.

Source: The Hindu BusinessLine