Mumbai | Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under fag-end selling pressure for the fourth straight session on Thursday as rising crude oil prices and losses in IT stocks weighed on investor sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 417.49 points, or 0.55 per cent, to close at 76,152.86. The index opened higher and rose 354.13 points, or 0.46 per cent, to hit an intraday high of 76,924.48 before paring gains during the closing session.
A total of 2,545 stocks advanced, while 1,778 declined and 223 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The 50-share NSE Nifty slipped 41 points, or 0.17 per cent, to settle at 23,873.45.
The early market rebound, supported by a recovery in global equities and recent foreign capital inflows, lost steam in the final hour of trade as investors turned cautious amid geopolitical uncertainties.
Among the 30 Sensex firms, Titan, Trent, ITC, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Tata Consultancy Services, UltraTech Cement and Bajaj Finance were the major laggards.
In contrast, Axis Bank, Adani Ports, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Bharat Electronics Ltd and Tata Steel were among the gainers.
Shares of PC Jewellers closed 3.54 per cent higher after the company said it has cleared its outstanding debt to one more bank under a settlement agreement dated September 30, 2024.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 1.57 per cent to USD 97.13 per barrel.
"Stubbornly high crude oil prices continue to act as key overhangs for the domestic market," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd.
He said that the market's recovery attempt lost steam as supportive global cues and renewed FII inflows collided with lingering geopolitical tensions and elevated global yields.
"Banking and realty stocks provided leadership, while small-caps attracted investor interest, reflecting confidence in domestic growth prospects," Nair added.
Despite the weakness in the benchmarks, the broader market remained resilient, with the SmallCap Select Index rising 1.02 per cent and MidCap Select Index gaining 0.09 per cent.
Among the BSE sectoral indices, Focused IT was the biggest loser, declining 1.01 per cent, while IT tanked 1 per cent.
Consumer Durables declined (0.61 per cent), Auto (0.47 per cent), FMCG (0.45 per cent), Telecommunication (0.44 per cent), Consumer Discretionary (0.26 per cent) and Healthcare (0.19 per cent).
On the other hand, the Realty index emerged as the biggest gainer, rising 2.39 per cent. Capital Goods, Housing Finance, Industrials, Power, PSU Bank, Services, MidSmall Private Banks and Private Banks indices also closed higher.
"Indian equities witnessed a volatile session, with the benchmarks giving up their early gains and ending lower as profit-booking at higher levels weighed on sentiment," Gaurav Garg, Head of Research at brokerage platform Lemonn, said.
The market remained cautious amid ongoing global uncertainties and weak investor confidence, while selling pressure in key sectors added to the decline, he added.
Asian markets ended on a mixed note, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Japan's Nikkei 225 settling lower. Shanghai's SSE Composite index closed flat, while South Korea's Kospi ended higher.
Markets in Europe were trading in negative territory. US markets ended higher in overnight trade on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, India's services activity expanded in August, supported by stronger output and new business, even as the overall pace of growth was the second-slowest recorded since March 2022, a monthly survey said on Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index rose from 53.3 in July to 54.1 in August, as demand conditions remained supportive and new business inflows continued to rise.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 6,688.37 crore on Wednesday. However, domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 2,812.98 crore, according to exchange data.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 373.93 points to settle at 76,570.35 on Wednesday, while NSE Nifty slumped 141.35 points to end at 23,914.45, extending their losses to a third consecutive session.
