SENSEX, NIFTY50 trade on a subdued note; Asian Paints, Kotak Bank gain, ICICI Bank, Infosys fall

The Indian equity benchmarks were trading on a subdued note on Wednesday, May 13, as investor sentiment remained cautious tracking higher crude oil prices in global markets and weak rupee against the US dollar. The SENSEX fell as much as 549 points from the day's highest level and NIFTY50 index touched an intraday low of 23,355 after hitting a high of 23,504.

As of 9:33 am, the SENSEX was down 124 points at 74,436 and NIFTY50 index declined 20 points to 23,359.

Asian markets were trading on a subdued note tracking a sombre trend in US markets and a spike in crude prices. Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.25%, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.04% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3%.

Oil prices declined on Wednesday but remained above $105 per barrel after rising for three consecutive sessions, as investors awaited developments around the fragile ceasefire in the Iran war and US President Donald Trump headed to China ‌for a high stakes summit with President Xi Jinping.

Back home, 10 of 15 major sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were trading lower led by the NIFTY PSU Bank index's 1% fall. NIFTY Bank, Financial Services, Media, Auto, and Private Bank indices also fell between 0.45% and 1%.

On the flip side, metal, select FMCG and consumer durables shares were witnessing buying interest.

Broader markets were trading on a flat note as NIFTY Midcap 100 index was unchanged at 59,727 while NIFTY Smallcap 100 index gained 0.11%.

Eicher Motors was top loser in the NIFTY50 index, the stock fell 3% to ₹6,910. Power Grid, Shriram Finance, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Max healthcare, Bajaj Auto, State Bank of India and Wipro also declined between 0.9% and 2.2%.

On the other hand, Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel, Hindalco, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Cipla were among top gainers in the NIFTY50 index.