MUMBAI: Domestic benchmark BSE Sensex declined on Wednesday, amid subdued world markets, ahead of the crucial US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meet outcome later in the day. Profit booking in index heavyweight <a target="_blank" href="/reliance-industries-ltd/stocks/companyid-13215.cms">Reliance Industries</a> (RIL) after an eight-day rally, contributed to more than half of the losses for flagship index.
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<br>The 30-pack Sensex shed 422 points to close at 38,071 while peer 50-share Nifty dropped 98 points to close at 11,203.
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<br>Despite the sharp decline in frontline indices, the market breadth was neutral as gainers and losers were nearly equal in number on the BSE. Broader markets outperformed Sensex with BSE mid and smallcap indices rising 0.68 per cent and 0.43 per cent, respectively.
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<br>"Indian indices gave up gains and closed in the negative with profit booking seen in the recent outperformer RIL,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
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<br>“Global markets were generally undecided ahead of the US Fed Reserve meeting. Mixed earnings reports in addition to rising virus cases that is forcing economies to reconsider restrictions to contain the spread weighed on sentiment,” he added.
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<br>Nineteen of 30 Sensex stocks closed lower. The most-valued company RIL tumbled 3.75 per cent after ET reported executive director <a href="/topic/PMS-Prasad" target="_blank">PMS Prasad</a> has pledged more than 90 per cent of his holdings in the company, following CFO Alok Agrawal.
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<div data-align="" data-msid="77240372" data-type="image" class="midImg clearfix"><figure class="imgBg"><img title="BSE snip 29xxx" alt="BSE snip 29xxx" src="https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-77240372,quality-100/bse-snip-29xxx.jpg" class="lazy gwt-Image" data-msid="77240372" data-original="https://img.etimg.com/photo/msid-77240372,quality-100/bse-snip-29xxx.jpg"><span class="imgAgency">Agencies</span></figure><div><div class="midCap">Sensex winners & losers (Source: BSE)</div></div></div>
<br>“The run up in RIL was backed by strong news flow of a string of deals for Jio. You require that sort of news flow for the stock to continue the momentum,” said independent analyst Ambareesh Baliga. The stock has more than doubled from its March lows.
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<br>“The pledging of shares by senior officials has dented the sentiment a bit. At this point of time, you cannot afford to have any accidents. I don’t see much upside from here as it is already overpriced,” he added.
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<br>Top private lender HDFC Bank dropped 1.94 per cent, while leading software exporters Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and <a target="_blank" href="/infosys-ltd/stocks/companyid-10960.cms">Infosys</a> declined 1.48 per cent and 0.92 per cent, respectively.
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<br>Top car maker Maruti Suzuki India skid 1.62 per cent as it logged its first-ever quarterly loss since its listing in 2003, hurt by the Covid-19 pandemic induced lockdown.
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<br>Private lender IndusInd Bank rose 4.54 per cent after it managed to beat Street expectations for the June quarter earnings, even as a more than five-fold jump in provisions weighed on its net profits.
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<br><a target="_blank" href="/nestle-india-ltd/stocks/companyid-13330.cms">Nestle</a> India, the maker of Maggi noodles, dropped 3.02 per cent despite posting a 1.1 per cent increase in its June quarter net profit aided by lower taxes. Brokerages have maintained neutral or sell ratings for Nestle after Covid-19 led disruptions impacted the company's results.
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<br><a href="/topic/BSE-Energy" target="_blank">BSE Energy</a> index was the top sectoral loser as it declined 3.04 per cent, followed by BSE Oil & Gas index which dropped 1.08 per cent. BSE Healthcare index bucked the trend and rose 2.13 per cent.
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<br>Dr Reddy’s Laboratories jumped 6.17 per cent as the drug maker beat analysts’ estimates despite posting a 12.59 per cent decline in net profits for the quarter ended June. The stock logged 52-week high of Rs 4,334.20 following its earnings announcement.
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<br>HT Media rose 2.24 per cent after the company said it was acquiring VCCircle and TechCircle.
<br>Tata Coffee zoomed 12.13 per cent on posting a 77 per cent increase in consolidated net profit for the quarter ended June.
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<strong>Markets at a glance</strong>
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 <li>Sensex drops 1.10% or 422 to close at 38,071</li>
 <li>Nifty sheds 0.86% or 98 points to close at 11,203</li>
 <li>19 of 30 Sensex stocks close lower</li>
 <li>RIL top Sensex loser, down 3.75%</li>
 <li>RIL contributes more than half to Sensex’s losses</li>
 <li>Other Sensex losers: Nestle down 3.02%, HCL Tech 2.66%</li>
 <li>IndusInd top Sensex gainer, up 4.54% post Q1 numbers</li>
 <li>Other Sensex gainers: Tata Steel down 4.34%, Sun Pharma 2.18%</li>
 <li>Market breadth neutral; advance-decline ratio 1:1</li>
 <li>Broader markets outperform, BSE midcap up 0.68%, smallcap 0.43%</li>
 <li>BSE Energy top sectoral loser, down 3.04%</li>
 <li>RIL Aegis Logistics top losers in energy pack</li>
 <li>BSE Oil & Gas down 1.08%; RIL top loser, HPCL down 2.04%</li>
 <li>BSE Healthcare up 2.13%; Nectar Life up 8.47%, Vimta Labs 7.59%</li>
 <li>Maruti drops 1.62% on first-ever quarterly loss since listing</li>
 <li>Dr Reddy’s logs 52-week high as Q1 net beats street view</li>
 <li>HT Media up 2.24% on VCCircle, TechCircle acquisition</li>
 <li>Tata Coffee zooms 12.13% as Q1 net jumps 77%</li>
 <li>IDBI Bank up 4.97% on posting 2nd straight quarterly profit</li>
 <li>IDFC First up 1.26% as it swings into the black in Q1</li>
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<strong>Who moved my market</strong>
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 <li><strong>Plunge in RIL shares</strong></li>
</ul>Index heavyweight RIL plunged nearly 4 per cent, and contributed to more than half of the losses for benchmark Sensex, after ET reported executive director PMS Prasad has pledged more than 90 per cent of his holdings in the company, following CFO Alok Agrawal. The oil-to-telecom conglomerate is slated to announce its June quarter earnings on Thursday. Analysts believe the rally in the stock may be overdone and needs sustainable news flow to continue the momentum.
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 <li><strong>A pause in global stocks</strong></li>
</ul>European stocks were largely flat on Wednesday as investors parsed through a deluge of earnings reports from major lenders like Deutsche Bank and <a href="/topic/Barclays" target="_blank">Barclays</a>, while waiting to hear from the U.S. Federal Reserve, Reuters reported. The pan-European STOXX 600 edged up 0.1 per cent. the MSCI world equity index, which tracks shares in 49 countries, was up around 0.1 per cent as well.
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 <li><strong>Covid cases rise past the 15-lakh mark</strong></li>
</ul>A total of 48,513 people tested positive for the new <a target="_blank" href="/news/coronavirus">coronavirus</a> in a day, taking India's COVID-19 tally past the 15 lakh mark, while the recoveries jumped to 9,88,029. The country's death toll rose to 34,193 with 768 fatalities being recorded in a day.
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<strong>What to watch out for</strong>
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<ul>
 <li>The outcome of the US FOMC meeting is one of the key events to watch out for. The Fed concludes its two-day meeting later on Wednesday, and investors are hoping for interest rates to stay lower for a longer period to support financial markets in the wake of the pandemic.</li>
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 <li>The coronavirus cases in India are yet to peak and are witnessing a record surge each day and are a major cause of worry.</li>
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 <li>The movement of global markets will be closely watched as the domestic market tends to follow suit.</li>
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 <li>Progress on a domestic as well as overseas vaccine for Covid-19 treatment will be closely watched.</li>
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 <li>The ongoing June quarter corporate earnings season is providing a better picture of the impact caused by the Covid19-induced lockdown. More than the numbers for the quarter, the commentary and the outlook have been the moniterables. </li>
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