Equity benchmarks ended marginally lower on Wednesday after a volatile session, while the rupee hit a fresh all-time low against the US dollar amid elevated crude oil prices and foreign fund outflows.

The BSE Sensex closed at 78,148.49, down 50.62 points or 0.06 per cent, after hitting an intraday low of 77,486.79. The NSE Nifty 50 declined 18.95 points or 0.08 per cent to end at 23,688.95.

The rupee extended losses for the second consecutive session, falling 13 paise to close at a record low of ₹85.87 against the US dollar. The domestic currency touched an intraday low of ₹85.89, pressured by higher crude oil prices, which rose 0.90 per cent to $77.74 per barrel, and a stronger American currency.

Oil & Gas stocks led the gainers, with the sectoral index rising over 1.5 per cent. ONGC emerged as the top Nifty gainer, surging 3.04 per cent after selecting a BP Plc subsidiary to provide technical services for enhancing production from its Mumbai High field. Other major gainers included ITC (+1.94 per cent), Asian Paints (+1.91 per cent), Dr. Reddy’s (+1.74 per cent), and TCS (+1.66 per cent).

Apollo Hospitals witnessed the steepest decline, falling 4.06 per cent, followed by Trent (-2.75 per cent), UltraTech Cement (-2.14 per cent), Shriram Finance (-1.98 per cent), and Bajaj Auto (-1.89 per cent).

The broader markets underperformed the benchmarks, with the BSE Mid-Cap and Small-Cap indices dropping 1.20 per cent and 1.71 per cent respectively. Market breadth remained negative, with 2,586 stocks declining against 1,386 advances on the BSE.

“Slowing economic growth projections and caution ahead of Q3 numbers added volatility in the market,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. “The near-term sentiment is likely to be subdued due to the rise in US bond yield and fear of fewer rate cuts by the Fed.”

The government’s latest data showed India’s economic growth is estimated to slip to a four-year low of 6.4 per cent in 2024-25, below the RBI’s projection of 6.6 per cent, due to weak performance in manufacturing and services sectors.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers, offloading ₹1,491.46 crore worth of Indian equities on Tuesday, according to exchange data. The US 10-year bond yields stayed elevated at 4.67 per cent amid expectations of delayed interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.

“The benchmark indices witnessed a recovery from lower levels after showing a deep cut in the early-mid part of the session,” noted Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. “Though Nifty placed below the crucial 200-day EMA at 23,700 levels, there is an absence of sharp breakdown below this key support.”

Route Mobile shares gained 3 per cent after partnering with Jakarta’s urban rail transit provider to launch a WhatsApp-based metro ticketing solution.

“Given the heightened market volatility, traders are advised to remain cautious and implement strict stop-loss measures to protect capital,” said Hardik Matalia, Derivative analyst at Choice Broking. The India VIX decreased by 1.33 per cent to 14.4650, indicating reduced market volatility.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, traded 0.35 per cent higher at 108.76. The market recorded 148 stocks hitting 52-week highs and 101 touching 52-week lows, while 7 stocks hit the upper circuit and 3 hit the lower circuit.