Mid‑cap and small‑cap indices also decline amid profit‑booking

The Wednesday trading session saw both mid‑cap and small‑cap segments slide as investors booked profits after a period of gains.

The Nifty Smallcap 100 slipped 62.60 points, or 0.32%, to settle at 19,384.80. The Nifty Midcap 100 trended slightly lower, losing 50.10 points (‑0.08%) and closing at 59,409.10.

The broader market pressure stemmed from a pullback in pharma, healthcare and financial services stocks, which each fell more than one percent. Additional weakness was observed in auto, realty, metal, private banking, manufacturing and consumption indices.

Conversely, energy, FMCG, IT, oil & gas, PSE, commodities, media and defence sub‑indices managed modest upticks.

Key Sensex constituents that remained in the green included Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Hindustan Unilever, NTPC, HCL Tech, BEL, Ultratech Cement, ITC and Kotak Mahindra Bank. A wide range of stocks—Bajaj Finance, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, Eternal, ICICI Bank, Indigo, Sun Pharma, L&T, Titan, Trident, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, HDFC Bank, Bharat Airtel, Power Grid, Axis Bank, Tata Steel and SBI—closed in the red.

Market observers pointed to profit‑taking, a dip in crude oil prices, a firmer rupee after RBI's foreign‑exchange actions and anticipation of a review of long‑term capital gains tax as factors moderating the market. Higher wholesale price inflation lifted bond yields, renewing concerns over a stricter monetary stance and weighing on auto, private‑bank and metal shares. Nonetheless, encouraging business updates from IT, FMCG and PSU banking sectors kept interest alive in companies with robust earnings potential.