Sensex falls by 346 points, auto and IT stocks tumble

Equity benchmark indices fell sharply during the last hour of the trading session on Wednesday amid mixed Asian cues and continued surge in coronavirus cases which cast doubt over a quick global economic recovery.

The BSE S&P Sensex closed 346 points or 0.94 per cent lower at 36,329 while the Nifty 50 edged down by 94 points or 0.87 per cent at 10,706.

Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed with Nifty auto and realty down by 1.9 per cent each, IT by 1.7 per cent and financial service by 0.6 per cent. But Nifty PSU bank climbed up by 2.3 per cent and metal by 1.5 per cent.

Among stocks, Bajaj Finance fell by 4.6 per cent to Rs 3,197 per share while Bajaj Finserv slipped by 2.8 per cent. Tata Motors was down by 3.1 per cent, Maruti Suzuki by 2.8 per cent and Eicher Motors by 2.6 per cent.

IT majors HCL Technologies and Infosys skidded by 2.9 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively. Asian Paints and Titan too traded with a negative bias.

However, IndusInd Bank rose by 4.5 per cent to Rs 550 per share after reports said US-based hedge fund Route One Investment Company is in talks to increase its stake in the private lender.

Metal stocks were up with Vedanta moving up by 2.7 per cent, JSW Steel by 2.3 per cent, Hindalco by 2 per cent and Tata Steel by 1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks showed mixed trends as an increase in new coronavirus cases in some parts of the world cast doubts over the economic recovery. That led some investors to cash in on recent gains ahead of earnings season.

Japan's Nikkei lost by 0.78 per cent but Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose by 0.59 per cent and Shanghai Composite by 1.74 per cent.

( With inputs from ANI )