The Indian market remained volatile as uncertainty over government formation in Karnataka hurt investor sentiment.

Share Market Live

NSE

Both the BJP and Congress-JD(S) alliance submitted a letter to the governor to stake a claim to form the government.

Political uncertainty led to a 156-point fall in the Sensex to 35,388, while the Nifty slipped 61 points to 10,741.

Major fall was seen in the Nifty Bank index as state-run banks continue to report disappointing earnings. The index finished the session 292 points lower at 26,181 and the Midcap Index eased 14 points to 19,083.

In the banking space, SBI, PNB, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank were top losers.

On the sectoral front, banks and financials dragged Nifty by 33 points. A drop in the market was checked by ITC, after the company reported overall improvement in Q4. The ITC reported a 2-3% decline in volumes in its cigarette business, in-line with estimates. HUL also had an upside run, with the company being the biggest contributor to the gains.

Amongst midcaps, TVS Motor also reported earnings for the Q4 on Wednesday. The Chennai-based two-wheeler company, reported operational performance below expectations. Margin has been hit due to higher expenses.

The stock recovered 6% from lows as the company saw overall revenue in-line with estimates. DB Corp also had a rough day after earnings coming in below estimates. The stock closed with a fall of over 3%.

In the futures market, 10,800 Call & 10,800 Put option saw major traction. Nifty 10,800 Call added 7 lakh shares in the open interest, while Nifty 10,800 Put shed a little over 7 lakh shares. The Nifty May futures premium now is at 23 points against Tuesday’s level of 16.75 points.

Stocks that were active in Future market were TVS Motor, PNB, Muthoot Finance and Syndicate Bank.

On the global front, most stocks in Asia closed lower as markets processed new geopolitical uncertainty related to North Korea and the US 10-year treasury yield rising to its highest level in seven years overnight.

Japan's Nikkei 225 eased 0.44% to 22,717 and the broader Topix slipped 0.27% as mining and oil shares weighed. Banking stocks also pulled back.

Elsewhere, South Korea's benchmark Kospi finished the day little changed at 2,459.82 after trading both above and below the flat line. Gains by heavyweight Samsung Electronics offset declines seen in oil refiners and in the manufacturing sector.

The Shanghai composite declined 0.7% to close at 3,169.71 and the Shenzhen composite shed 0.41% to finish the session at 1,832.27. Financials were among the worst-performing sectors in the Shanghai, with major insurers and banks downbeat.