NEW DELHI: Equity indices slipped into red from record highs on Wednesday with the benchmark BSE sensex falling nearly 700 points dragged by banking, realty, pharma and IT stocks.
The 30-share BSE index plunged 695 points or 1.56 per cent to finish at 43,828; while the broader NSE Nifty finished 197 points or 1.51 per cent down to settle at 12,858.
Axis Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints and HDFC Bank were the biggest losers in the sensex pack falling up to 3.48 per cent.
While ONGC and Power Grid were the only gainers rising as much as 6.11 per cent.
On the NSE platform, sub-indices Nifty Realty, Pharma, Private Bank and Bank fell as much as 2.25 per cent.
"We are seeing profit-taking. The market is definitely over-bought. There's some shifting of portfolios," Neeraj Dewan, director at Quantum Securities told news agency Reuters.
"Other sectors that can benefit with the economy opening up in the next three or six months are expected to rise," he said, adding infrastructure stocks could see more investor interest.
In a bright spot, the Nifty PSU banking index that tracks the state-owned lenders advanced 1.8 per cent.
On the global front, world shares hit a record high following an advance on Wall Street that saw the Dow Jones benchmark crack 30,000 on US President-elect Joe Biden's transition to the White House and increasing confidence a Covid-19 vaccine would be ready soon.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors remained net buyers in the capital market as they purchased shares worth Rs 4,563.18 crore on a net basis on Tuesday, according to provisional exchange data.
(With agency inputs)