Stock market today: BSE Sensex ends flat; Nifty50 below 22,500

Stock market today: The BSE Sensex declined by 72 points on Wednesday, continuing its downward trend for the fourth consecutive day as IT shares declined due to US growth worries. The BSE Sensex closed at 74,029.76, falling 72.56 points or 0.10 per cent, after touching a low of 73,598.16 during trading.
The NSE Nifty ended at 22,470.50, decreasing by 27.40 points or 0.12 per cent, with an intraday low of 22,329.55.
Major decliners from the Sensex included Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Nestle India, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Zomato, Hindustan Unilever, and Bharti Airtel.
The gainers comprised IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv and UltraTech Cement.
Small-cap and mid-cap indices showed weakness, declining by 0.48 per cent and 0.57 per cent respectively.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, noted that global trade uncertainties and US recession fears affected domestic market sentiment, despite stabilised valuations and improving demand.
The US market faces pressure from weak economic data and tariff policy uncertainty, raising concerns about potential global market impact.
Among BSE sectors, IT, Teck, Realty, Telecommunication, Metal, Capital Goods, Services, and Industrial indices declined significantly. Energy, FMCG, financial services, Healthcare, Utilities, Auto, Bankex, Consumer Durables, Oil & Gas, and Power sectors showed gains.
IT stocks saw a decline exceeding 5 per cent due to US recession concerns. Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries showed mixed performance after announcing partnerships with SpaceX for internet services.
The BSE saw 2,491 declining stocks, 1,494 advancing ones, and 137 unchanged, with market capitalisation decreasing by Rs 1,40,922.64 crore to Rs 3,92,84,618.08 crore.
February retail inflation decreased to 3.61 per cent, down from January's 4.26 per cent and February 2024's 5.09 per cent, primarily due to lower vegetable and protein prices.
Asian markets showed mixed results, while European markets traded higher. Wall Street closed negative on Tuesday. Brent crude rose 0.34 per cent to USD 69.80 per barrel.
FIIs sold equities worth Rs 2,823.76 crore, while DIIs purchased Rs 2,001.79 crore worth of equities on Tuesday.
The previous day saw the BSE Sensex close at 74,102.32, down by 12.85 points, while the Nifty gained 37.60 points to end at 22,497.90.