Sensex Down 0.62%, Nifty Ends at 22,687.65 on Crude Concerns
Indian stock markets ended in the red for the third day in a row on Thursday, as rising crude oil prices and geopolitical unease kept investors cautious. The Sensex closed 460.30 points lower at 73,249.39, a decline of 0.62 percent, while the Nifty finished 123.70 points lower at 22,687.65, down 0.54 percent.
Media, FMCG and defence shares were the main sources of pressure on the indices. The Nifty Media index was the worst hit, falling 2.35 percent. The Nifty FMCG index dropped 1.41 percent, and the Nifty India Defence index declined 1.21 percent. Nifty Energy and Nifty IT each slipped 1.05 percent, and the Nifty Consumer Durables index lost 0.96 percent.
On the other side, Nifty Pharma, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Healthcare closed with gains.
Mid and small-cap stocks saw steeper losses than their large-cap peers. The Nifty Midcap 100 index shed 501.90 points, or 0.87 percent, to 57,063.95. The Nifty Smallcap 100 index was down 211.40 points, or 1.14 percent, at 18,275.90.
Among the Sensex stocks, Bajaj Finance, UltraTech Cement, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, SBI, Bharti Airtel, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Tech and Bajaj Finserv ended higher. Eternal, HDFC Bank, Power Grid, Trent, Infosys, Asian Paints, ITC, BSE, M&M, TCS, L&T, HUL, Maruti Suzuki, Tech Mahindra, Titan, IndiGo, NTPC and Axis Bank were the laggards.
According to analysts, the market remained under pressure through Thursday's session. After a subdued opening, the indices fluctuated widely. Periodic buying from lower levels provided some respite, but it was not enough to prevent the Nifty from losing more than half a percent. Analysts said the benchmark settled at 22,665.80, a level that reflects continued weakness in sentiment.
The selling was widespread across sectors, with FMCG, IT and energy among the most affected. Mid and small caps also weakened, each losing close to 1 percent. Analysts said the persistent weakness across market segments points to hesitancy among investors about taking on risk, along with ongoing selling in stocks beyond the major names.