Key Takeaways
- Indian stock markets fell for a second straight session on Thursday.
- The Sensex dropped 455 points (0.59%) and the Nifty fell 148 points (0.63%).
- Persistent selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and weak global cues drove the decline.
Indian equity benchmarks extended their losses into a second consecutive day on Thursday, dragged down by sustained selling from foreign funds and a weak trend across global markets.
Market Performance Details
The BSE Sensex closed 454.69 points, or 0.59%, lower at 76,430.19. During the session, it had plunged as much as 617.39 points to 76,267.49.
The broader NSE Nifty declined by 148.15 points, or 0.63%, to end at 23,307.10.
Top Gainers and Losers
Major laggards among Sensex companies included HDFC Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Larsen & Toubro, IndusInd Bank, and State Bank of India.
Notable gainers were NTPC, Power Grid, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries, and Tech Mahindra.
Global Market Context
The sell-off mirrored weakness across major Asian markets, where indices in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong all closed lower. European markets were also trading in negative territory during their session.
This followed a mostly lower close on Wall Street on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, edged up 0.13% to $85.03 a barrel.
FII Selling Pressure
The primary domestic headwind remained heavy selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs). Exchange data showed they offloaded equities worth Rs 3,608.88 crore on Wednesday, continuing the pressure on markets.
In the previous session, the BSE Sensex had fallen 426.87 points (0.55%) to 76,884.88, while the Nifty declined 108.75 points (0.46%) to 23,455.25.
