Sensex pares early gains, ends 110 pts lower; Nifty slips below 16,250

After two days, Dalal Street bears overpowered bulls on Wednesday, pushing benchmark indices lower. Banks, metal, capital goods and realty stocks weighed most on the market.

The market opened with gains but soon selling in index heavyweights began.

The 30-share pack Sensex fell 109.94 points or 0.20 per cent to close at 54,208.53. The index fell nearly 1 per cent from the day’s high. Its broader peer NSE Nifty also gave up gains to settle below the 16,250 mark.

Tata Consumer Products, , , , , were among the top gainers. In contrast, , , , , and ended the session with cuts.

Broader markets also mirrored the movement of large caps as the Nifty midcap settled lower, while the smallcap index ended on a flat note.

Market at a glance:
-Ruchi Soya rose 10% after name change, Patanjali Ayurved agreement
-Delta Corp tanks 6.4% after GoM recommends increasing GST rate on online gaming, casinos to 28%
-Route Mobile plunged 18.5% after poor Q4 show
-IOC tanks 5% as brokerages slash target post Q4 performance
-India VIX, barometer of volatility, declined 2% to 22.30

"With the support from pharma and FMCG stocks, the domestic market had a steady run until the weak opening of the European market. UK’s soaring retail inflation number along with Fed Chair’s reassurance on bringing down the inflation, disturbed the sentiment, risking sharper rate hikes" said Vinod Nair of .

The global markets have been struggling to gain momentum, weighed down by several global cues and inflation worries and investors struggle for directions.

With prospects of a sizeable interest rate hike by the global central banks, investors are advised to allocate higher weightage to sectors that are least affected by such policies like defensives, Nair added.

Global Markets
Markets in Asia settled on a mixed note, with Seoul, Hong Kong and Tokyo ending in the green, while Shanghai was lower. Equity exchanges in Europe were also trading on a mixed note in the afternoon session. US futures fell slightly as investors tried to build on a solid Tuesday rally.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 1.13 per cent to USD 113.2 per barrel, while rupee pared all gains to close little changed at 77.58.