Nifty 50 and Sector Indexes Slip, IT Stocks Hold Ground

The benchmark Nifty 50 closed at 24,078.30 on Wednesday, down 76.60 points (0.32%). Alongside the headline index, most sectoral gauges posted losses.

Defence and energy led the declines, with Nifty India Defence down 1.49% and Nifty Energy off 1.18%. Media, power, infrastructure, commodities, FMCG, manufacturing, oil & gas, healthcare, autos, services, pharma and consumption indexes were all in negative territory.

The IT sector, however, bucked the trend, delivering a modest gain and keeping the Nifty IT index in the green. Consumer durable stocks also managed to stay positive, offering a small counterbalance to the broader market weakness.

Large‑cap, mid‑cap and small‑cap segments were all affected. The Nifty Midcap 100 slipped 130.65 points (0.21%) to 63,408.75, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 fell 101.70 points (0.51%) to 19,707.15.

Among the Sensex constituents, the gainers were HCL Tech, Eternal, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma, Titan, TCS, Infosys and Trent. The laggards comprised Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, L&T, ITC, HUL, BEL, Indigo, SBI, Axis Bank, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank.

Market observers cited the anticipation of the Federal Reserve's minutes as a key factor dampening sentiment, fearing a firmer stance on inflation could trigger further sell‑offs. In addition, no diplomatic breakthrough following the US‑Iran ceasefire kept crude oil prices elevated, which together with higher bond yields heightened risk aversion among investors.

Despite the pull‑back, value‑oriented buying and a weaker rupee gave the IT sector a relative edge, allowing it to outperform the broader market.