MUMBAI— Indian equity markets closed lower on Thursday as widespread selling in IT, real estate, consumer goods, and energy stocks weighed on sentiment amid ongoing first-quarter earnings announcements.
Snapping the previous session’s gains, the benchmark Sensex ended the day down 542.47 points, or 0.66 percent, at 82,184.17. The 30-share index opened slightly higher at 82,779.95, compared to Wednesday’s close of 82,726.64, but quickly lost steam as pressure mounted across key sectors. It touched an intraday low of 82,047.22.
The Nifty 50 also closed in the red, shedding 157.80 points, or 0.63 percent, to finish at 25,062.10.
According to Ashika Institutional Equities, sectoral performance was mixed, with PSU banks, healthcare, and pharmaceutical stocks showing relative strength, while IT, construction, FMCG, energy, and oil and gas sectors dragged the indices lower.
Among the top laggards on the Sensex were Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Tech, ITC, Asian Paints, and TCS. On the flip side, gainers included Eicher Motors, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, and Tata Steel.
Out of the Nifty 50 constituents, 34 stocks declined while 16 advanced.
Sectorally, the Nifty IT index led the losses, tumbling 815 points or 2.21 percent. Nifty FMCG fell 624 points (1.12 percent), Nifty Financial Services declined 169 points (0.62 percent), and Bank Nifty ended 144 points lower (0.25 percent).
“A surprise Trump-Fed meeting, stalled U.S.-India trade negotiations, and tariff uncertainty dampened investor sentiment, despite optimism surrounding the UK-India free trade agreement,” said Vikram Kasat, Head of Advisory at PL Capital.
Broader markets mirrored the trend, with the Nifty 100 down 144 points, Nifty Midcap 100 shedding 346 points, and Nifty Smallcap 100 falling by 206 points.
In the currency market, the rupee opened with 0.30 percent gains, supported by a weaker dollar index, which hovered near 97.30 in early trade. However, as the dollar index rebounded during the session, the rupee gave up its gains and settled at around 86.40, down from the day’s high of 86.25.
“Investors remain cautious ahead of next week’s U.S. Federal Reserve policy decision, which is expected to shape near-term market direction. The rupee is likely to trade in the 85.85–86.65 range in the short term,” said Jateen Trivedi of LKP Securities. (Source: IANS)
