News Analysis India

Tag: NSE

  • Indian Stocks Close Financial Year On Firm Footing, Indices Accumulate 27-31% Returns |

    New Delhi: Indian stock market indices closed the financial year 2023-24 on a firm note, with Sensex and Nifty rising in the range of 0.8-0.9 per cent on Thursday, backed by firm economic growth forecasts by various global watchdogs and political stability at the federal level.

    Sensex settled 0.88 per cent or 639 points higher at 73,635 points, and Nifty 0.92 per cent or 203 points at 22,326 points. Among the widely-tracked Nifty 50 stocks, 45 advanced and the rest 5 declined today, NSE data showed.

    On Friday, the market will remain shut for Good Friday. On Monday too, the stock exchanges were closed on account of Holi. Today, the equity market extended gains and almost retested the record high. Over the past 12 months, the indices accumulated about 27-31 per cent return on investment for the investors.

    “Indian equities closed the day and fiscal year on an optimistic note, with volatility by the end of the session, as buying by retails, DIIs, and FIIs surged across categories,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services. (Also Read: AI Security Startup SydeLabs Raises Funds To Secure GenAI Systems)

    “The mid- and small-cap stocks have emerged as frontrunners, rebounding from the initial sell-off earlier in the month. An upgrade in the domestic economy forecast hints at an encouraging outlook for the stock market in FY25. However, the emphasis is on large-cap due to the persisting premium valuations of mid-cap stocks, which could pose a concern on the broad market in the short to medium term.”

    Emkay Institutional Equities, a part of Emkay Global Financial Services Limited, maintains its stance of Nifty to remain at 24,000 level. Emkay expects the market to rebound in 3-6 months, when SMIDs (Small and Mid Caps) will start to outperform again.

    For the time being, Ajit Mishra, SVP – Technical Research, Religare Broking suggests a continuing focus on stock selection, with a preference for the index majors and large midcaps.

    Back home, foreign portfolio investors continue to remain net buyers in India. This also buoyed the stocks. Foreign portfolio investors who had aggressively sold Indian stocks and turned net sellers in the Indian equity market in January 2024 became net buyers in February and March. This has also likely buoyed the stocks of late.

    In March, they bought stocks in India worth Rs 31,056 crore, the latest data from the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) showed. Separately, the Beta version of the optional T+0 settlement, for a limited set of 25 shares, started today. The T+0 system means that the settlements must be done within the same day, of the completion of a transaction. (Also Read: Realme 12X 5G Smartphone Price Range And Specifications Confirmed In India Ahead Of Launch On April 2)

    The Board of the SEBI will review the progress at the end of three months and six months from the date of this implementation, and decide on further course of action. Currently, India follows the T+1 cycle, which means trades are settled by the next day. 

  • NSE phone tapping: Delhi HC grants bail to Chitra Ramkrishna in money laundering case

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to Chitra Ramkrishna in the money laundering case related to alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) employees.

    “The application is allowed. The applicant is granted bail,” said Justice Jasmeet Singh.

    The former NSE managing director, who was earlier arrested by the CBI in the alleged NSE co-location scam, was arrested in the present case by the Enforcement Directorate on July 14 last year.

    She was granted bail in the CBI case by the high court in September last year.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed her bail plea in the present case on grounds that she was the “mastermind” behind the conspiracy.

    The phone tapping case, according to the ED, pertains to a period from 2009 to 2017 when former NSE CEO Ravi Narain, Ramkrishna, Executive Vice-President Ravi Varanasi, and Head (Premises) Mahesh Haldipur and others conspired to cheat NSE and its employees and for the purpose, engaged iSEC Services Pvt Ltd for illegal interception of phone calls of employees of the NSE in the guise of doing periodic study of cyber vulnerabilities of the NSE.

    Seeking bail, Ramkrishna had argued that no scheduled offence was made out against her and the allegations also did not fall within the rigours of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act .

    Ramkrishna was appointed as Joint MD NSE in 2009 and remained in the position till March 31, 2013. She got elevated as MD and CEO on April 1, 2013. Her tenure at NSE ended in December 2016.

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted bail to Chitra Ramkrishna in the money laundering case related to alleged illegal phone tapping and snooping of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) employees.

    “The application is allowed. The applicant is granted bail,” said Justice Jasmeet Singh.

    The former NSE managing director, who was earlier arrested by the CBI in the alleged NSE co-location scam, was arrested in the present case by the Enforcement Directorate on July 14 last year.

    She was granted bail in the CBI case by the high court in September last year.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had opposed her bail plea in the present case on grounds that she was the “mastermind” behind the conspiracy.

    The phone tapping case, according to the ED, pertains to a period from 2009 to 2017 when former NSE CEO Ravi Narain, Ramkrishna, Executive Vice-President Ravi Varanasi, and Head (Premises) Mahesh Haldipur and others conspired to cheat NSE and its employees and for the purpose, engaged iSEC Services Pvt Ltd for illegal interception of phone calls of employees of the NSE in the guise of doing periodic study of cyber vulnerabilities of the NSE.

    Seeking bail, Ramkrishna had argued that no scheduled offence was made out against her and the allegations also did not fall within the rigours of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act .

    Ramkrishna was appointed as Joint MD NSE in 2009 and remained in the position till March 31, 2013. She got elevated as MD and CEO on April 1, 2013. Her tenure at NSE ended in December 2016.

  • ED arrests former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain in money-laundering case

    By Online Desk

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain in a money-laundering case, say officials.

    According to sources, ED is investigating phone tapping and co-location matters. However, there is no clarity in which case ED has arrested Narain.

    The anti-money laundering agency had registered a case against him, along with ex-NSE chief Chitra Ramakrishna and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 14.

    Narain was the MD and CEO of NSE from April 1994 to March 31, 2013. Thereafter, he was appointed vice-chairman, in a non-executive category on the company’s board from April 1, 2013, to June 1, 2017.

    Further details are awaited.

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain in a money-laundering case, say officials.

    According to sources, ED is investigating phone tapping and co-location matters. However, there is no clarity in which case ED has arrested Narain.

    The anti-money laundering agency had registered a case against him, along with ex-NSE chief Chitra Ramakrishna and former Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on July 14.

    Narain was the MD and CEO of NSE from April 1994 to March 31, 2013. Thereafter, he was appointed vice-chairman, in a non-executive category on the company’s board from April 1, 2013, to June 1, 2017.

    Further details are awaited.

  • Company founded by Mumbai ex-top cop violated SEBI orders in NSE brokers’ audit: CBI

    The CBI has alleged that iSec services had conducted audit of two “high risk brokers” — SMC Global Securities Ltd and Shaastra Securities Trading Private Limited — in a fraudulent manner.

  • NSE illegal phone tapping: ED files money laundering case against former Mumbai top cop

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering complaint against ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey and former NSE top bosses Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain in connection with the alleged illegal phone tapping case of the stock exchange employees, officials said Thursday.

    It also placed Ramkrishna, till now in judicial custody in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) colocation case linked to alleged manipulation of the bourse, under arrest.

    A Delhi court later granted the anti-money laundering probe agency her custody for four days.

    Pandey is understood to have been summoned by the ED to appear before the agency on Friday in Delhi for questioning in the phone tapping case, the officials said.

    The federal probe agency filed the fresh case under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a week after the CBI booked them.

    The Central Bureau of Investigation had alleged that Narain and Ramkrishna, both former chief executives of NSE, had roped in a company founded by retired IPS officer Pandey to snoop on the stock market employees by illegally intercepting their phones calls.

    The CBI, and now the ED, have named Pandey, his Delhi-based company iSEC Services Pvt.

    Ltd, NSE’s former MD and CEOs Narain and Ramkrishna, executive vice president Ravi Varanasi and head (premises) Mahesh Haldipur, among others, in their respective complaints.

    The ED will probe if any proceeds of crime were generated through this alleged illegal act and the accused laundered public funds.

    Pandey, a 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, retired from service on June 30.

    Before his four-month stint as Mumbai’s commissioner of police, he served as acting Maharashtra director general of police (DGP).

    He was questioned by the ED on July 5 in the alleged NSE colocation scam case in Delhi.

    The ED discovered secret phone surveillance while probing the alleged financial irregularities at the NSE following which it reported it to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which asked the CBI to probe the charges, the officials said.

    The CBI had alleged in its complaint that during the period 2009-17, Narain, Ramkrishna, Varanasi and Haldipur conspired to illegally intercept the telephones of NSE employees for which they hired iSEC Services Pvt Ltd, founded by Pandey in 2001.

    Pandey had incorporated the company after resigning from service but his resignation was not accepted.

    The company allegedly received a payment of Rs 4.45 crore for illegal tapping which was camouflaged as “Periodic Study of Cyber Vulnerabilities” at the NSE, the CBI alleged.

    The company also provided transcripts of the tapped conversations to senior management of the stock market, it had claimed.

    “Top officials of NSE issued agreement and work orders in favour of said private company and illegally intercepted the phone calls of its employees by installing machines, in contravention of provisions under Indian Telegraph Act,” a statement from the CBI said.

    Officials said the interception was stopped in 2019, months after the CBI started probing the NSE colocation scam in 2018, and the machines and other infrastructure used for interception were disposed of as e-waste by the bourse.

    The alleged fraud relates to manipulation of the stock market through electronic contrivances.

    The CBI also conducted raids last week in the phone tapping case and claimed to have recovered original transcripts, raid server, voice samples, two laptops containing evidence related to interception, bills generated for services rendered by iSEC, among others, from the company premises.

    They had said four MTNL lines used by NSE employees having capacity for 120 calls at a time were under the scanner.

    The CBI alleged that no permission for this activity was obtained from the competent authority as provided for under section five of the Indian Telegraph Act.

    “No consent of the employees of NSE was also taken in this matter,” it said.

    The CBI has also listed as accused the then directors of iSEC Services Pvt Ltd Santosh Pandey, Anand Narayan, Armaan Pandey, Manish Mittal, former Senior Information Security Analyst Naman Chaturvedi and Arun Kumar Singh.

    The company had done the safety audit around the time the colocation scam was alleged to have taken place.

    NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering complaint against ex-Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey and former NSE top bosses Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain in connection with the alleged illegal phone tapping case of the stock exchange employees, officials said Thursday.

    It also placed Ramkrishna, till now in judicial custody in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) colocation case linked to alleged manipulation of the bourse, under arrest.

    A Delhi court later granted the anti-money laundering probe agency her custody for four days.

    Pandey is understood to have been summoned by the ED to appear before the agency on Friday in Delhi for questioning in the phone tapping case, the officials said.

    The federal probe agency filed the fresh case under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), a week after the CBI booked them.

    The Central Bureau of Investigation had alleged that Narain and Ramkrishna, both former chief executives of NSE, had roped in a company founded by retired IPS officer Pandey to snoop on the stock market employees by illegally intercepting their phones calls.

    The CBI, and now the ED, have named Pandey, his Delhi-based company iSEC Services Pvt.

    Ltd, NSE’s former MD and CEOs Narain and Ramkrishna, executive vice president Ravi Varanasi and head (premises) Mahesh Haldipur, among others, in their respective complaints.

    The ED will probe if any proceeds of crime were generated through this alleged illegal act and the accused laundered public funds.

    Pandey, a 1986-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, retired from service on June 30.

    Before his four-month stint as Mumbai’s commissioner of police, he served as acting Maharashtra director general of police (DGP).

    He was questioned by the ED on July 5 in the alleged NSE colocation scam case in Delhi.

    The ED discovered secret phone surveillance while probing the alleged financial irregularities at the NSE following which it reported it to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which asked the CBI to probe the charges, the officials said.

    The CBI had alleged in its complaint that during the period 2009-17, Narain, Ramkrishna, Varanasi and Haldipur conspired to illegally intercept the telephones of NSE employees for which they hired iSEC Services Pvt Ltd, founded by Pandey in 2001.

    Pandey had incorporated the company after resigning from service but his resignation was not accepted.

    The company allegedly received a payment of Rs 4.45 crore for illegal tapping which was camouflaged as “Periodic Study of Cyber Vulnerabilities” at the NSE, the CBI alleged.

    The company also provided transcripts of the tapped conversations to senior management of the stock market, it had claimed.

    “Top officials of NSE issued agreement and work orders in favour of said private company and illegally intercepted the phone calls of its employees by installing machines, in contravention of provisions under Indian Telegraph Act,” a statement from the CBI said.

    Officials said the interception was stopped in 2019, months after the CBI started probing the NSE colocation scam in 2018, and the machines and other infrastructure used for interception were disposed of as e-waste by the bourse.

    The alleged fraud relates to manipulation of the stock market through electronic contrivances.

    The CBI also conducted raids last week in the phone tapping case and claimed to have recovered original transcripts, raid server, voice samples, two laptops containing evidence related to interception, bills generated for services rendered by iSEC, among others, from the company premises.

    They had said four MTNL lines used by NSE employees having capacity for 120 calls at a time were under the scanner.

    The CBI alleged that no permission for this activity was obtained from the competent authority as provided for under section five of the Indian Telegraph Act.

    “No consent of the employees of NSE was also taken in this matter,” it said.

    The CBI has also listed as accused the then directors of iSEC Services Pvt Ltd Santosh Pandey, Anand Narayan, Armaan Pandey, Manish Mittal, former Senior Information Security Analyst Naman Chaturvedi and Arun Kumar Singh.

    The company had done the safety audit around the time the colocation scam was alleged to have taken place.

  • CBI to produce former NSE CEO Chitra Ramakrishna in local Special court

    Express News Service

    The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will produce former chief executive of  National Stock Exchange Chitra Ramakrishna in the local Special court of CBI cases seeking custodial remand of her in connection with the multi crores market manipulation-cum-irregularities case of NSE, lodged against her and others with the agency.

    She was finally taken into custody by the CBI after questioning her for last a couple of days during which her replies were found unsatisfactory.

    CBI sources on Monday morning said that she would be taken on custodial remand with the permission of the concerned court. Earlier, the CBI Spl court had rejected the plea for anticipatory bail and expressed displeasure over the lackadaisical attitude of the agency working on the case.

    Prior to her arrest, Anand Subramanian-The former Group Operating Officer and the closest to Chitra Ramakrishna was arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the NSE colocation matter.

    ALSO READ| Revealed: The Chennai house that Chitra Ramkrishna sold to Anand Subramanian’s wife in 2021!

    CBI sources also said that the days of Anand Subramanian ended on Sunday, so the CBI will also produce him in the Special court seeking the second remand of Anand Subramanian on Monday apart from producing Chitra Ramakrishna.

    ALSO READ: Were ex-CEO of NSE Chitra Ramkrishna and Anand Subramanian planning to turn neighbours?

    Both are accused of complicity in committing grave irregularities in the market manipulation and trading as well as passing confidential information to outsiders including one who continued in communication with Chitra Ramakrishna with a pseudo-identity called”Himalayan Yogi”.

  • Govt looking into governance lapses that happened at NSE: Finance Minister

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the government is looking into the governance lapses that had happened at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) but declined to comment on whether there was an adequate correctional step in terms of actions taken against those who were held responsible for the lapses.

    Earlier this month, markets watchdog Sebi penalised NSE and its former MDs and CEOs, Chitra Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain, and others for various violations in a case related to the appointment of Anand Subramanian as Group Operating Officer and Advisor to then MD Ramkrishna.

    The regulator also imposed a fine of Rs 3 crore on Ramkrishna, Rs 2 crore each on the NSE, Narain and Subramanian and Rs 6 lakh on V R Narasimhan, who was then the Chief Regulatory Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.

    Sitharaman told reporters here on Tuesday that the government was looking into the governance lapses that had happened at the exchange.

    “I have no comment to make on whether there was an adequate correctional step in the sense of penalising or anything taken against those who were held responsible for it. I have no view this way or that way till I really get to the bottom of what is available before me. I am looking into it but I won’t be able to comment on it at the moment,” Sitharaman said.

    She was responding to queries, including on whether the penalties imposed were adequate.

    Ramkrishna was MD and CEO of NSE from April 2013 to December 2016, Narain was the MD and CEO of the exchange from April 1994 till March 2013.

    Thereafter, he was appointed as Vice Chairman in the non-executive category on the NSE’s board from April 2013 and remained so till June 2017.

    According to the Sebi order, Ramkrishna was steered by a yogi dwelling in the Himalayan ranges in the appointment of Subramanian as the exchange’s Group Operating Officer and Advisor to MD.

    The unknown person or yogi according to Ramkrishna was a “spiritual force that could manifest itself anywhere it wanted and did not have any physical or locational co-ordinates and largely dwelt in the Himalayan range”.

    Sebi had also noted that in spite of being aware of the irregularities on the appointment of Subramanian, NSE and other officials, including former MD and CEO Ravi Narain did not record the matter in the minutes of the board meeting in the name of confidentiality and sensitive information.

    While passing a 190-page order in the matter, Sebi had also barred NSE from launching any new product for a period of six months.

  • CBI questions ex-NSE GOO Anand Subramanian over abuse of co-location facility by broker

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: The CBI has questioned former National Stock Exchange group operating officer Anand Subramanian in connection with its ongoing probe into alleged irregularities by a stock broker, the ambit of which was expanded after a recent SEBI report cited “governance lapses” at the exchange, officials said on Monday.

    The CBI questioned Subramanian during the last three days in Chennai about his role at the exchange, how he landed as the group operating officer at the NSE, besides his association with then MD and CEO Chitra Ramkrishna, they said.

    A team of CBI officials also visited the SEBI office in Mumbai recently to collect certain documents, they added.

    The CBI had last week questioned former NSE CEOs Ramkrishna and Ravi Narain in connection with “fresh facts” which surfaced in the damning report released by SEBI on February 11.

    The market regulator said Ramkrishna was steered by a yogi dwelling in the Himalayan ranges in the appointment of Subramanian as the exchange’s group operating officer and adviser to the managing director (MD).

    The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) charged Ramkrishna and others with alleged governance lapses in the appointment of Subramanian as the chief strategic advisor and his re-designation as group operating officer and adviser to the MD.

    SEBI has levied a fine of Rs 3 crore on Ramkrishna, Rs 2 crore each on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Subramanian, and former NSE MD and CEO Ravi Narain, and Rs 6 lakh on V R Narasimhan, who was the chief regulatory officer and compliance officer.

    The central probe agency had booked stock broker Sanjay Gupta, owner and promoter of Delhi-based OPG Securities Pvt Ltd, in 2018 for allegedly making gains by getting early access to the stock market, the officials said.

    The agency was also probing unidentified officials of SEBI and the NSE, and other unknown persons.

    “It was alleged that the owner and promoter of said private company abused the server architecture of NSE in conspiracy with unknown officials of NSE. It was also alleged that unknown officials of NSE, Mumbai had provided unfair access to said company using the co-location facility during the period 2010-2012 that enabled it to login first to the exchange server of the stock exchange that helped to get the data before any other broker in the market,” the CBI has alleged in the FIR.

    Narain was the MD and CEO of the exchange from April 1994 till March 2013. Thereafter, he was appointed as vice-chairman in the non-executive category on the NSE’s board from April 2013 and remained so till June 2017.

  • Himalayan baba may allegedly be former finance minister Subramaniam, claims source

    Express News Service

    The CBI and tax authorities have swooped down on former MD & CEO of the National Stock Exchange Chitra Ramkrishna. But they have not been able to find the identity of the so-called Himalayan Baba who ran India’s biggest stock exchange from behind the scenes.

    Highly placed sources told TNIE, that this person is no baba and has nothing to do with the Himalayas, and is most likely from the other end of the country. They say he is a former bureaucrat from the Union finance ministry who was in charge of the capital market and is credited with shaping the career of Ramkrishna and helping her reach the top at NSE.

    Strongly rejecting the possibility of NSE’s Chief Strategy Advisor Anand Subramaniam being the Baba, sources said there were some people, who wanted the issue to be closed by making Subramaniam – as the person who was communicating with Ramkrishna using the email id [email protected]. 

    If Subramaniam is established as the Baba, then the serious charge of leaking sensitive information to an outsider would go away. This theory of Subramaniam being the Baba is also being pushed by the NSE board.

    SEBI, however, has rejected this theory after a detailed investigation into the matter. SEBI investigation has also established that the NSE board had full knowledge of Ramkrishna sharing sensitive NSE information with an unknown person who used the email id [email protected].

    Yet, the board allowed her to resign and leave and took no action against her. In fact, the board thanked her for her services. Sources said members of the board are also likely to be probed as investigation widens in the case.

    According to sources, the name of this bureaucrat who used the identity of a baba would come out if the CBI dives deep into the case. “But if the case is investigated like the co-location scam where NSE was allowed to get away with a fine, then the baba will remain a mystery,” sources said.

    They said that NSE’s theory that Subramaniam used the fake id in order to communicate with Ramkrishna and seek favours from her is deliberately misleading. “The person using [email protected] id is known intricate details of NSE’s functioning and hierarchy. Subramanian was a novice. He came from outside. The authoritative tone of the messages from that mail id is a clear giveaway about the seniority and knowledge of the user,” sources said. They said Subramaniam could never have told Ramkrishna, “You will vomit all that is required as always.” This is a communication from a tutor to a pupil. Not from a junior to his senior, they said.

    In a mail, the unknown baba tells Ramkrishna “don’t worry, the straw known when to be a capillary and when not to. Kanchan (Subramaniam) will be the straw and I will be the suction force for this and you will vomit all that is required as always.” Here, the unknown person is telling Ramkrishna to repeat his lines in discussions with SEBI, PMO and finance ministry on the listing of stock exchanges.

    During the course of investigation in the co-location case, SEBI came across certain documentary evidence, which demonstrate that the MD & CEO of NSE had shared certain internal confidential information of NSE viz Organizational Structure, Dividend Scenario, Financial Results, Human Resources Policy and related Issues, Response to Regulator etc with an unknown person by addressing her correspondence to an email id [email protected] during the period 2014 to 2016.

    SEBI investigator Ananta Barua concluded, “I find the allegation that Noticee no. 6 (Subramaniam) has exploited Noticee no. 1 (Ramkrishna) by creating another identity before her in the form of the unknown person having email id [email protected] to guide her perform her duties according to his wish, is not sustainable.”

    SEBI said it was unfortunate that the head of the leading and largest stock exchange in India has had to resort to such attempts to justify her actions of sharing confidential information pertaining to NSE with an unknown person. 

    “I find that it is a bizarre attempt at concealing the identity of the unknown person. Clearly, such an attempt is unacceptable. I note that the Noticee no. 1 (Ramkrishna) herself has stated that – “Who else and whom he would correspond with was outside my purview. He may have corresponded with any others too”, and therefore, Noticee no. 1 has no assurance herself that the confidential information she has passed on to the unknown person is not being passed on to other persons. Therefore, I find that it is a glaring breach of the regulations and laws in place that requires key officials and employees to maintain confidential information of the company, which in this case being NSE, which is the leading and largest stock exchange in India,” the SEBI order said.

  • Sensex plunges over 500 points on global selloff; Nifty tests 17,600

    By PTI

    MUMBAI: Equity benchmark Sensex slumped over 500 points in early trade on Wednesday, tracking losses in index majors HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Infosys amid heavy selloff in global markets.

    The 30-share Sensex was trading 501.74 points or 0.84 per cent lower at 59,165.86.

    Similarly, the Nifty declined 135.05 points or 0.76 per cent to 17,613.55.

    ICICI Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding nearly 2 per cent, followed by HDFC Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Auto, Infosys and Bajaj Finserv.

    On the other hand, Dr Reddy’s, Tata Steel, Sun Pharma and Nestle India were among the gainers.

    In the previous session, the 30-share index ended 410.28 points or 0.68 per cent lower at 59,667.60, and Nifty declined by 106.50 points or 0.60 per cent to close at 17,748.60.

    Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,957.70 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data.

    According to V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, the surge in the benchmark US 10-year yield to 1.546 per cent spooked equity markets in the US with cuts of above 2 per cent in S&P 500 and Nasdaq.

    “The rise in US bond yields triggering correction in equity markets has been a known threat for some time now. But what triggered this sudden spike in bond yield was the Fed chief Jerome Powell’s statement that inflation may persist for a much longer time,” he said.

    Further, he noted that the rise in the dollar index to 93.7 levels indicate profit booking in stocks and safe-haven buying into the dollar.

    “It is too early to conclude that this is a trend reversal for markets. But at the present elevated valuations, the risk is high. Investors may watch for consolidation in markets,” he added.

    Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with heavy losses in mid-session deals.

    Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.51 per cent to USD 77.17 per barrel.