Mumbai— Indian stock markets ended lower on Thursday following a day of choppy trading, as late-session selling wiped out early gains. Investor sentiment remained cautious amid anticipation of a potential trade agreement between India and the United States.
The Sensex hit an intra-day high of 83,850 in early trading but closed down 170.22 points, or 0.2%, at 83,239.70. The Nifty also declined by 48.10 points, or 0.19%, to settle at 25,405.30.
“Markets remained volatile on weekly expiry day and closed slightly lower, continuing the consolidation phase,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President, Technical Research at Religare Broking Ltd.
After an early uptick, the Nifty fluctuated sharply within Wednesday’s range before closing near the lower end. Mishra noted that despite the pullback, the broader trend remains bullish unless the index breaks below the 25,200 level. Resistance is expected in the 25,650–25,750 zone.
Top Losers on the Sensex included Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Trent, and State Bank of India. Meanwhile, Maruti Suzuki India, Infosys, NTPC, Asian Paints, Hindustan Unilever, and Eicher Motors helped limit the index’s losses.
In the broader market, the Nifty Midcap100 ended flat with a slight positive bias. The Nifty Smallcap100, however, slipped 0.26%, reflecting weak sentiment among smaller stocks.
Among sectoral indices, the Nifty PSU Bank index was the worst performer, declining 0.89% due to selling pressure in Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India, UCO Bank, and Central Bank of India. Other sectors such as metals, real estate, banking, and financial services also closed in the red.
On the other hand, selective buying lifted sectors like media, auto, pharma, healthcare, consumer durables, oil & gas, and FMCG, which all ended in positive territory.
Analysts expect markets to remain cautious in the near term, with global trade developments, foreign institutional investor (FII) activity, and key macroeconomic indicators under close watch.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee strengthened to a one-month high, driven by expectations of foreign capital inflows and optimism around the pending trade deal with the U.S.
“In the near term, the spot USD/INR rate is expected to find support at 84.95, with resistance near 85.70,” said Dilip Parmar, Research Analyst at HDFC Securities. (Source: IANS)
