Benchmarks extended losses in late afternoon session dragged by losses in Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank and State Bank of India. Besides, investor sentiment was dampened amid uncertainties around easing tensions in West Asia with US and Iran giving mixed signals. Further, market participants stayed away from risky bets as foreign investors continued to pull out capital from Indian markets. On Wednesday’s session, foreign institutional investors were the net sellers of securities worth Rs 1,805.37 crore. Moreover, surge in global prices and weakness in rupee have kept traders on edge. The brent crude oil surged to trade near the $110 per barrel mark, while Indian rupee has weakened against the US dollar to trade around 94.76.

On the global front, Asian equity markets were trading mixed amid losses in Wall Street overnight. European equity markets were trading lower as investors feared the implication of prolonged West Asia conflict on inflation and the world economy.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 73656.29, down by 1617.16 points or 2.15% after trading in a range of 73654.08 and 74904.91. There were 3 stocks advancing against 27 stocks declining on the index.

The top losing sectoral indices on the BSE were Realty down by 2.79%, Bankex down by 2.69%, Auto down by 2.56%, Consumer Discretionary down by 2.30% and Industrials down by 2.24%. Meanwhile, there were no gainers on BSE sectoral index.

The top gainers on the Sensex were TCS up by 0.56%, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries up by 0.24% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.15%. On the flip side, Reliance Industries down by 4.69%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.23%, Interglobe Aviation down by 4.05%, Bajaj Finserv down by 3.50% and Eternal down by 3.16% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, with an aim to enhance regional air connectivity to underserved and unserved areas, the Union Cabinet has approved modified ‘Ude desh ka aam naagrik’ (UDAN) scheme, with a total outlay of Rs 28,840 crore. The new modified scheme will run for a period of ten years from FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36. The original UDAN Scheme was launched in October 2016 with the objective of making air travel affordable and strengthening connectivity to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. 

Under this scheme, 100 airports are proposed to develop at existing unserved airstrips to enhance regional connectivity, in line with the Viksit Bharat 2047 vision of infrastructure expansion and transforming India into a globally competitive aviation ecosystem with a total outlay of Rs 12,159 crore over the next eight years. Further, the hilly, remote, island and aspirational regions will get 200 modern helipads at Rs 15 crore each, amounting to a total requirement of Rs 3,661 crore over the next eight years (inflation-adjusted), focused on priority and aspirational districts to improve last-mile connectivity and emergency response.

The scheme will also provide operation & maintenance (O&M) support for three years capped at Rs 3.06 crore per annum per airport and Rs 0.90 crore per annum per heliport/water aerodrome, estimated at Rs 2,577 crore for around 441 aerodromes. Further, under the regional connectivity scheme, airline operators receive financial support in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for operating awarded routes. Recognising the need for longer market development, VGF support to airline operators is proposed amounting to Rs 10,043 crore over 10 years.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 22856.70, down by 449.75 points or 1.93% after trading in a range of 22852.70 and 23186.10. There were 6 stocks advancing against 44 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were ONGC up by 4.68%, Wipro up by 0.60%, TCS up by 0.57%, Coal India up by 0.36% and Power Grid Corporation up by 0.22%. On the flip side, Shriram Finance down by 5.35%, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles down by 4.99%, Reliance Industries down by 4.75%, Bajaj Finance down by 4.37% and Interglobe Aviation down by 4.09% were the top losers.

Asian equity markets were trading mixed; Nikkei 225 slipped 209.65 points or 0.39% to 53,394.00, Taiwan Weighted lost 225.03 points or 0.68% to 33,112.59, Jakarta Composite plunged 69.07 points or 0.97% to 7,095.02, Shanghai Composite strengthened 24.64 points or 0.63% to 3,913.72, Straits Times rose 12.95 points or 0.26% to 4,900.71, KOSPI dropped 21.59 points or 0.4% to 5,438.87 and Hang Seng advanced 86.57 points or 0.35% to 24,943.00.

European equity markets were trading lower; UK’s FTSE 100 decreased 58.59 points or 0.59% to 9,913.58, France’s CAC fell 58.41 points or 0.75% to 7,710.90 and Germany’s DAX lost 289.47 points or 1.28% to 22,323.50.