Sensex falls 217 points, Nifty at 8,528; IndusInd Bank gains

Indian benchmark indices opened in red on Wednesday (April 1) with the Sensex plunging 217.62 points or 0.74% at 29250.87, and the Nifty declining 69.60 points or 0.81% at 8528.15. About 328 shares have advanced, 251 shares declined, and 34 shares are unchanged.

Benchmark indices traded flat to positive in the pre-opening session with the Sensex gaining 172.05 points or 0.58% at 29640.54, and the Nifty advancing 7.35 points or 0.09% at 8605.10.

The Indian currency market will remain shut for two days due to annual bank closing and Ram Navami.

On Tuesday (March 31), equity benchmark indices closed in the green with the Sensex closing up 1,028.17 points or 3.62% at 29468.49, while the broader Nifty ended 275.90 points up or 3.33% at 8557. 

Major gainers on the Nifty were BPCL, Britannia Industries, ONGC and Gail, while IndusInd Bank, Eicher Motors, and Cipla were top losers. All the sectoral indices ended in the green led by energy followed by FMCG, metal, IT and pharma. 

Gains were witnessed across sectors, with healthy buying in metal, energy and oil and gas stocks, and the major gainers were HDFC, ONGC and HCL Technologies, while IndusInd Bank and Maruti Suzuki were the only losers