Markets volatile: Sensex choppy, IT index crashes 6%, Nifty stays above 25,750

Indian equity markets traded on a choppy note on Wednesday as investors paused after the previous session’s sharp rally driven by the India–US trade agreement.

While the deal — which lowered US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent — had boosted sentiment, traders moved to lock in gains, keeping benchmarks under pressure.

Heavy selling in information technology stocks further dragged the indices.

In early trade, the BSE Sensex slipped 309 points, or 0.37 per cent, to trade near 83,430, while the Nifty 50 declined 65 points, or 0.25 per cent, to around 25,663. Despite the weakness, the Nifty managed to stay above the 25,650 mark.

Broader markets also saw mild losses. The Nifty MidCap index fell 0.48 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index eased 0.18 per cent.

IT stocks were the biggest laggards, with the Nifty IT index plunging over 5.5 per cent. Stocks such as Persistent Systems, LTIMindtree, Infosys, HCL Tech, Coforge, TCS, Mphasis and Tech Mahindra traded sharply lower.

Global cues

US markets ended lower overnight as investors rotated out of technology stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34 per cent, the S&P 500 slipped 0.84 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.43 per cent.

Asian markets were mixed in early trade on Wednesday amid limited cues. China’s CSI 300 declined 0.29 per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng edged down 0.05 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.61 per cent. South Korea’s Kospi, however, gained 0.54 per cent.

In commodities, spot gold climbed more than 1 per cent to $5,002 per ounce, while spot silver rose 0.69 per cent to $85.70 per ounce. Investors are now awaiting the final S&P Global/HSBC composite and services PMI data for January from India and Japan for further direction.