Dalal Street Ends Lower As Sensex Declines 290 Points, Nifty Tests 24K

The Indian benchmark indices declined on Thursday as the Sensex ended over 290 points lower to close trade at 77,182 and the Nifty ended 116 points lower to settle at 24.090 at 3:30 PM.

In the 30-share BSE Sensex, among the top gainers were stocks such as Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, TechMahindra, Bharat Electronics and Adani Ports. Meanwhile, the laggards included stocks like Titan, Sun Pharmaceuticals, L&T, UltraCement and Axis Bank.

In the broader markets, the Nifty 100 fell 0.43 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap 50 rose 0.09 per cent as volatility increased. Sectorally, the Nifty Cement index declined 1.33 per cent and the Nifty Pharma index rose 0.84 per cent.

Previously, during the early morning session, Sensex climbed more than 150 points and crossed 77,650, while the NSE Nifty50 rose nearly 70 points and inched closer to 24,300, as of 9:15 AM.

Geopolitical tensions continue to weigh on market sentiment, V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, said.

Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, traded 0.44 per cent lower at USD 87.45 per barrel.

Asian markets were mixed on Thursday. South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai's SSE Composite index quoted higher, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index traded lower.

US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 502.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

However, domestic benchmark indices ended lower in the previous session.

The Sensex declined 183.15 points, or 0.24 per cent, to settle at 77,472.94 on Wednesday. The Nifty fell 126.80 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 24,207.75.

The Sensex declined over 290 points to close at 77,182, while the Nifty fell 116 points, settling at 24,090 by the end of trade on Thursday.

Geopolitical tensions continued to weigh on market sentiment. This was highlighted by V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited.

The Nifty 100 fell 0.43% and the Nifty Smallcap 50 rose 0.09%, indicating increased volatility. Asian markets were mixed, with some indices higher and others lower.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were buyers on Wednesday, purchasing equities worth Rs 502.63 crore. This occurred despite domestic benchmark indices ending lower in that session.