Closing Bell: Sensex tumbles 268 points to end at 37,060, Nifty also down by 98 points

Benchmark equity index Sensex slumped 268 points on Wednesday, dragged by losses in ITC, HDFC, L&T and ICICI Bank as investors remained wary of an economic slowdown.

After plunging 305 points, the 30-share Sensex settled 267.64 points, or 0.72 per cent, lower at 37,060.37. It hit an intra-day high of 37,406.55 and a low of 37,022.52.

The broader NSE Nifty too ended 98.30 points, or 0.89 per cent, down at 10,918.70. During the day, it swung between a high of 11,034.20 and a low of 10,906.65. Tata Motors was the biggest laggard in the Sensex pack, plummeting 9.29 per cent, followed by Yes Bank at 8.21 per cent.

Other losers included Tata Steel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, SBI, L&T, ITC, Vedanta, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank and M&M, which declined up to 4.26 per cent. Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Bajaj Auto, Maruti, NTPC and HDFC Bank bucked the weak market trend, rising up to 1.78 per cent.

In the previous session, the Sensex settled 74.48 points, or 0.20 per cent, lower at 37,328.01. The Nifty too ended 36.90 points, or 0.33 per cent, down at 11,017.

Top laggards in the Sensex pack included Tata Motors, Yes Bank, Vedanta, ONGC, Tata Steel and HCL Tech, which fell up to 3 per cent.

While, Hero MotoCorp, Infosys, M&M, TechM and Maruti rose up to 1 per cent.

The Nifty has lost almost a 1,000 in the past three months and market sentiments continue to remain weak in the near term, said Hemang Jani, Head - Advisory, Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.

Globally, markets are keenly awaiting comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, US. Investors will also be tracking the G7 Summit during August 25?27 in France.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng and Kospi ended on a positive note, while Nikkei settled in the red. Equities in Europe were trading significantly higher in their respective early sessions.

Meanwhile, the Indian rupee appreciated 22 paise to 71.49 against the US dollar intra-day. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, spurted 1.28 per cent to USD 60.80 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)