Stock markets decline in early trade tracking weak global peers, fresh foreign fund outflows
Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in initial trade on Wednesday, tracking weak global market trends and fresh foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 135.8 points to 84,537.22 in early trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty dipped 53.85 points to 25,856.20.
From the Sensex firms, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv, NTPC, and Sun Pharma were among the laggards.
However, Infosys, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra and ICICI Bank were among the gainers.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index quoted lower while Japan's Nikkei 225 index traded higher.
US markets ended in negative territory on Tuesday.
"Global stock markets continue to trade under pressure, extending a volatile phase that has pulled major US indices like the S&P 500 and Nasdaq into their longest losing streaks in months. The weakness is not a panic-driven crash but a broad and healthy correction following an overheated rally through most of 2025.
"The biggest drag has come from cooling enthusiasm in AI and mega-cap technology stocks," Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
He further said that adding to the pressure, the Federal Reserve's tone has turned more hawkish in recent days.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 728.82 crore on Tuesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 6,156.83 crore, according to exchange data.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, dipped 0.25 per cent to USD 64.73 per barrel.
On Tuesday, the Sensex declined 277.93 points, or 0.33 per cent, to settle at 84,673.02. The Nifty dipped 103.40 points, or 0.40 per cent, to 25,910.05.
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Jai Bhim: Slogan that energised Dalits was first given at this central Maharashtra village
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): 'Jai Bhim': These two words have come to symbolise the awakening and empowerment of the Dalit community in independent India, but not many people know how it originated.
The slogan, which also encapsulates the immense reverence in which Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar is held, was first raised at the Makranpur Parishad, a conference organised at Makranpur village in Kannad teshil of today's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district in Maharashtra.
Ambedkar, the chief architect of India's Constitution, died on December 6, 1956.
Bhausaheb More, the first president of the Scheduled Castes Federation of Marathwada, organised the first Makranpur Parishad on December 30, 1938.
Dr Ambedkar spoke at the conference and asked the people not to support the princely state of Hyderabad under which much of central Maharashtra then fell, said Assistant Commissioner of Police Pravin More, Bhausaheb's son.
"When Bhausaheb stood up to speak, he said every community has its own deity and they greet each other using the name of that deity. Dr Ambedkar showed us the path of progress, and he is like God to us. So henceforth, we should say 'Jai Bhim' while meeting each other. The people responded enthusiastically. A resolution accepting 'Jai Bhim' as the community's slogan was also passed," More told PTI.
"My father came in contact with Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in his early years. Bhausaheb was aware of the atrocities the Nizam state committed on Dalits. He told Ambedkar about these atrocities, including the pressure to convert. Dr Ambedkar was strongly against these atrocities, and he decided to attend the 1938 conference," he said.
As Ambedkar was against the princely states, he was banned from giving speeches in the Hyderabad state but was allowed to travel through its territories. The Shivna river formed the border between Hyderabad and British India. Makranpur was chosen as the venue for the first conference because it was on the banks of Shivna but lay in the British territory, ACP More said.
The stage made of bricks, from where Dr Ambedkar addressed the conference, still stands. The conference is organised on December 30 every year to carry forward Ambedkar's thought, and the tradition was not discontinued even in 1972 when Maharashtra experienced one of the worst droughts in it history.
"My grandmother pledged her jewellery for the conference expenses. People from Khandesh, Vidarbha and Marathwada attended it. Despite a ban imposed by the Nizam's police, Ambedkar's followers crossed the river to attend the event," said ACP More.
"This is the 87th year of Makranpur Parishad. We have deliberately retained the venue as it helps spread Ambedkar's thought in rural areas," he added.
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