The Sensex plummeted more than 200 points in early trade on Wednesday, mirroring losses in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, the HDFC twins, and ICICI Bank, amid a broadly bearish trend in Asian markets.

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In early trade, the 30-share index was down 245.5 points, or 0.41%, at 60,076.87. Likewise, the Nifty dropped 72.40 points, or 0.40%, to 17,926.80.

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HDFC was the Sensex pack’s biggest loss, losing more than 1%, followed by Dr. Reddy’s, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, and HCL Tech. On the other hand, NTPC, Asian Paints, M&M, PowerGrid, Maruti, and Bajaj Auto were among the gainers.

In the previous session, the Sensex slid 396.34 points, or 0.65%, to 60,322.37, while the Nifty fell 110.25 points, or 0.61%, to 17,999.20.

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According to exchange statistics, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Tuesday, offloading shares worth Rs 560.67 crore.

“When valuations are high, as they are right now, certain triggers might precipitate a market decline. The RBI’s comments on high market valuations sparked a small retreat on Tuesday ” said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul were down in mid-session trade, while Shanghai was up. In the overnight session, stock markets in the United States concluded with gains.

Meanwhile, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, slipped 0.84% to USD 81.74 a barrel. Rupee falls 14 paise to 74.51 against US dollar in early trade.

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