NSE’s Nifty fell 181.8 points, or 0.77%, to close at 23,486. BSE’s Sensex declined 728.6 points, or 0.93%, to end at 77,288.
“Traders have been booking profits after the recent sharp rally in the market and before the monthly derivatives expiry on Thursday,” said Aamar Deo Singh, senior vice-president of research at Angel One.
Singh said 23,700-23,800 remains a strong zone of resistance for the Nifty and sees the index trading in the range of 23,300-23,800 in the absence of any major trigger.
Foreign portfolio investors net bought shares worth ₹2,240.5 crore and remained buyers for the fifth straight trading session. Domestic institutions were sellers to the tune of ₹696.4 crore.
Nifty’s Volatility Index, or VIX, fell 1.2% to 13.47 levels, indicating some relief among market traders.Nifty Midcap 150 dropped 0.6%, and Nifty Smallcap 250 fell 1.4% on Wednesday. Out of the total 4,143 stocks traded on BSE, 885 advanced, and 3,151 declined at close.Elsewhere in Asia, Japan gained 0.65%, Hong Kong rose 0.6%, South Korea gained 1.1%, and Taiwan and China remained flat at close.
The pan-Europe index Stoxx 600 ended down 0.7%.
