Sensex, Nifty Fall Nearly 1% After Fitch Downgrades U.S. Credit Rating: Midday Market Update

India's benchmark stock indices declined nearly 1% through midday on Wednesday on subdued global sentiment after Fitch Ratings Inc. downgraded the U.S. sovereign credit grade.

All sectors plunged, with stocks of the public-sector banks and metals correcting the most. The Sensex slipped below the 66,000 level intraday, while the Nifty was near the 19,500 mark.

As of 12:42 p.m., the S&P BSE Sensex fell 590.89 points, or 0.89%, to trade at 65,868.42, while the NSE Nifty 50 declined 182.60 points, or 0.93%, to 19,550.95.

Stocks fell in Asia, dragged by technology shares as Fitch's downgrade of the US sovereign credit grade also weighed on risk sentiment.

Technology stocks in Hong Kong dropped more than 3%. Japanese stocks also fell as a stronger yen dented the outlook for corporate profit. Contracts for the Euro Stoxx 50, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were all down.

The S&P 500 finished Tuesday with a small loss as the rally that drove the stock market up almost 30% from its October lows took a breather. The move by Fitch to downgrade the US to AA+ from AAA comes after major political battles over the nation's borrowing and repeated standoffs over raising the debt limit.

Hindustan Unilever Ltd., Nestle India Ltd., Asian Paints Ltd., Divi's Laboratories Ltd. and HDFC Life Insurance Co. were positively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50.

Reliance Industries Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. weighed on the index.

The broader market indices declined. The S&P BSE Midcap was down 1.15%, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was 0.65% lower.

Eighteen of the 20 sectors compiled by BSE Ltd. declined. The S&P BSE Metal and S&P BSE Power fell the most.

The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 1,372 stocks rose, 2,086 declined, and 173 remained unchanged on the BSE.