Sensex sheds 208 pts; ONGC tanks 5 pc

Market benchmark Sensex surrendered early gains to end 208 points lower on Wednesday as energy, power, auto and financial stocks came under selling pressure. After plunging 473 points from the day's high in a choppy session, the 30-share BSE index settled 208.43 points, or 0.50 per cent, lower at 41,115.38. It hit an intra-day high of 41,532.29 and a low of 41,059.04.

Likewise, the broader NSE Nifty closed 62.95 points, or 0.52 per cent, down at 12,106.90. ONGC was the top loser in the Sensex pack, tumbling 5.13 per cent, followed by NTPC, Maruti, Kotak Bank, HDFC, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank.

On the other hand, Nestle India, TCS, Infosys, HCL Tech, SBI and Bharti Airtel ended with gains of up to 1.86 per cent. According to experts, major stocks are in the process of correcting to their support levels ahead of the Union Budget.

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Further, global agencies slashing India's growth outlook and a tepid start to the earnings season are also weighing on domestic investor sentiment, they added. Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with gains.

European markets were also trading on a positive note in their early sessions. Brent crude oil futures fell 0.67 per cent to USD 64.16 per barrel. The rupee was trading flat at 71.22 per US dollar (intra-day).

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