Sensex, Nifty End Marginally Lower; IT Stocks Hit Hard

(RTTNews) - Indian shares fluctuated before ending on a flat note Wednesday.

A cautious undertone prevailed as U.S. President Donald Trump's increased tariffs on all U.S. steel and aluminum imports took effect and the European Union retaliated, saying it will impose counter tariffs on 26 billion euros ($28 billion) worth of U.S. goods from next month.

On the positive side, Ukraine signaled its readiness to accept a U.S. proposal for an "immediate, interim 30-day ceasefire" with Russia, following talks in Saudi Arabia.

Also in focus today was the release of key U.S. consumer inflation data later in the day, which could provide additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory this year.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex dropped 72.56 points, or 0.10 percent, to 74,029.76, tracking mixed Asian cues and a rebound in European markets after four days of declines.

The broader NSE Nifty index closed down 27.40 points, or 0.12 percent, at 22,470.50 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes fell 0.6 percent and half a percent, respectively.

The market breadth was negative, with 2,490 shares declining while 1,494 shares advanced and 138 shares closed unchanged.

IT stocks came under heavy selling pressure, with TCS, Tech Mahindra, Wipro and Infosys tumbling 2-4 percent after analyst and brokerage downgrades.

Among the prominent gainers, IndusInd Bank surged 4.4 percent while ITC, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Tata Motors rallied 2-3 percent.

Bharti Airtel fell 1.2 percent while Reliance Industries rose 0.8 percent following their deals with Elon Musk's SpaceX to bring Starlink's internet services to India.