Sensex Tanks 300 Points, Nifty Near 22,800; Paytm Surges 5%

Benchmark indices Nifty and Sensex opened lower on Wednesday, tracking weak global cues.

S&P BSE Sensex opened 0.43 per cent or 321 points lower at 74,849.45 levels. NSE Nifty50, meanwhile, fell 0.46 per cent or 105 points to 22,783.35 levels.

On BSE, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank were the top gainers while Tech Mahindra, M&M were the top laggards.

Similarly, on NSE, Hindalco, Sun Pharma were the top gainers, while M&M, BPCL were top losers.

Broader markets were trading lower. Nifty SmallCap was down 0.55 per cent while Nifty Midcap was 0.59 per cent.

Sectorally, markets saw broad-based selling led by Nifty Auto.

Paytm shares locked in 5% upper circuit even as firm denies report of stake sale to Adani group

Paytm denied reports of stake sale talks on Wednesday, refuting earlier media claims. The Times of India had stated that Gautam Adani, chairman of the Adani Group, is in discussions with Paytm founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma regarding acquiring a stake, according to sources.

Global Cues

The Asia-Pacific markets showed a mixed trend of highs and lows this morning, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.32 per cent, and broader Topix index slipping 0.18 per cent.

South Korea’s Kospi was down by 0.79 per cent, while the small-cap Kosdaq slipped 0.76 per cent. Meanwhile, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 dropped by 0.97 per cent.

Futures for Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index were trading 1 per cent lower at 18,632 levels.