Stock Market Today: Amid reports of stake sale, ITC pulled down the equity benchmark indices, the Sensex and Nifty, in early trading on Wednesday. In early trading, the 30-share BSE benchmark gauge, the Sensex, fell 200.32 points to 81,351.31. At 24,765, the NSE Nifty fell 61.2 points. ITC, IndusInd Bank, Nestle, Titan, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Mahindra & Mahindra, and Maruti were among the Sensex companies that lagged.

Amid reports that British American Tobacco (BAT), the largest shareholder in ITC Ltd., is preparing to sell a portion of its stake in the diversified conglomerate through a block deal and plans to dilute its 2.3% stake this time, ITC fell more than 3%.

Among the winners were Infosys, Eternal, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Bharti Airtel, and Tata Consultancy Services.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng quoted lower, while Shanghai's SSE Composite index, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, and South Korea's Kospi were all trading in the positive zone in Asian markets. Tuesday saw a sharp increase in US markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 1.78 per cent, the S&P 500 jumped 2.05 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 2.47 per cent.

According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) purchased stocks on Tuesday for a total of Rs 348.45 crore. Brent crude, a global oil benchmark, increased 0.37 per cent to USD 64.33 per barrel.

The BSE Sensex fell 624.82 points, or 0.76 per cent, on Tuesday, ending the day at 81,551.63. At 24,826.20, the Nifty fell 174.95 points, or 0.70 per cent.

Rupee Drops 23 Paisa

The strengthening of the US dollar and an increase in the price of crude oil caused the rupee to drop 23 paise to 85.63 against the US dollar in early trading on Wednesday.

The domestic currency depreciated 23 paise from its previous close by opening at 85.59, falling to 85.71, and then closing at 85.63 against the US dollar at the interbank foreign exchange. The rupee fell 30 paise against the US dollar to close at 85.40 on Tuesday.

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