Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell on Thursday, marking a second consecutive day of losses, influenced by declines in major firms such as Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, and Larsen & Toubro amid a sluggish global market trend.
The 30-share BSE Sensex surrendered early gains, dropping 151.48 points, or 0.18 per cent, to close at 82,201.16. During the trading session, it had earlier declined by 222.2 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 82,130.44. The NSE Nifty fell 53.60 points, or 0.21 per cent, ending at 25,145.10 despite starting the day on a positive note.
"Markets ended lower in a volatile session, primarily due to profit-taking in Reliance Industries. Globally, most equity indices were mixed, with traders awaiting key US data on Friday that could indicate the Federal Reserve’s stance on interest rates for this month," said Prashanth Tapse, Senior VP (Research) at Mehta Equities Ltd.
Among the 30 Sensex companies, Reliance Industries experienced a decline of over 1 per cent. Other significant losers included Tata Motors, Nestle, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, and Mahindra & Mahindra.
Conversely, Titan, ITC, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, and State Bank of India were among the top gainers.
In broader market performance, the BSE small-cap index rose by 0.56 per cent, and the mid-cap index increased by 0.27 per cent. Sector-wise, declines were noted in realty (0.95 per cent), capital goods (0.61 per cent), industrials (0.38 per cent), power (0.37 per cent), and oil & gas (0.30 per cent).
Gainers included healthcare, commodities, consumer discretionary, telecommunications, consumer durables, IT, and tech sectors.
"Global stocks showed muted performance as traders anticipated data releases that will offer insights into the US economy’s health and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policies," noted Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.
Asian markets were mostly lower with Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong closing down, while Shanghai ended higher. European markets were trading lower, and US markets concluded with mixed results on Wednesday.
"The benchmark indices are trading with minor losses due to concerns about potential slowdowns in the US and Chinese economies. The market is now looking for new catalysts, particularly in how the Federal Reserve handles the challenge of achieving a soft economic landing," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities worth Rs 975.46 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On the previous day, the BSE benchmark had dropped by 202.80 points, or 0.25 per cent, closing at 82,352.64, while the Nifty had declined by 81.15 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 25,198.70. The Nifty had previously surged nearly 1,141 points, or 4.59 per cent, over 14 consecutive days.
Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude increased by 1.14 per cent to USD 73.53 per barrel.
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