Indian shares mirrored a global downturn on Wednesday, though a drop in oil prices due to demand concerns helped mitigate broader losses.
The markets opened sharply lower as investor sentiment was dampened by fears of slowing growth in both the U.S. and China. The U.S. manufacturing sector contracted for the fifth consecutive month in August, marking its 21st contraction in the last 22 months. This has fueled worries about a potential recession in the world's largest economy.
In China, a private survey indicated that the growth in its services sector slowed in August, despite what is typically a peak season for travel.
However, buying interest appeared at lower levels as oil prices continued their downward trend, extending nearly a 5 percent drop from Tuesday on demand concerns.
The benchmark S&P BSE index touched an intraday low of 81,833.69 points before closing the session down 202.80 points, or 0.25 percent, at 82,352.64 points. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty index ended 81.15 points lower, or 0.32 percent, at 25,198.70 points, snapping a 14-day winning streak.
Within the Nifty pack, LTIMindtree, Hindalco, ONGC, Coal India, and Wipro saw declines ranging from 1 to 3 percent. Conversely, Sun Pharma, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Grasim, and Asian Paints experienced gains of 1 to 2 percent.
