Following a dramatic comeback the previous day, equity markets fell sharply on Wednesday, with the Sensex losing 496 points in early trading, mirroring negative global trends. Foreign money outflows were unabated, as was selling in index heavyweights Infosys and Bajaj Finance.

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“The roller coaster ride in markets is set to continue in the near term. With the 3.95 per cent sell-off yesterday (Tuesday), Nasdaq is now 23 per cent down from its record highs and, therefore, can be said to be in the bear market territory”, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

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“The real worry for markets now is a possible sharp global slowdown triggered by the coming aggressive monetary tightening in the US, severe Covid-related lockdowns in China and woes in the Euro Zone caused by the Ukraine war,” he added.

The 30-share BSE index was down 495.77 points at 56,860.84. The Nifty fell 144.15 points to 17,056.65 on the NSE.

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Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Infosys, M&M, Wipro, Maruti, and Titan were the main laggards in early trade within the 30-share Sensex group. NTPC, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Power Grid, and HDFC, on the other hand, benefited.

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In mid-session trades, Asian markets were mixed, with Tokyo and Seoul quoted almost 1% lower, while Hong Kong and Shanghai pricing modestly higher. On Tuesday, US stocks concluded the day with a big drop.

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On Tuesday, the Sensex rose 776.72 points, or 1.37%, to 57,356.61. The Nifty gained 246.85 points, or 1.46%, to close at 17,200.80.

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According to stock market statistics, foreign institutional investors maintained their selling binge on Tuesday, unloading shares worth Rs 1,174.05 crore.

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Meanwhile, Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose 0.5% to USD 105.42 a barrel. In early trade on Wednesday, the rupee fell 16 paise to 76.72 against the US dollar.