Benchmark stock market indices erased early gains to close lower in a volatile session on Thursday as metal sector stocks dragged Sensex, Nifty down. Continuous FII outflow also dampened the market sentiment.
The S&P BSE Sensex lost 148.14 points to close at 83,311.01, while the NSE Nifty50 was down by 87.95 points to end at 25,509.70.
Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said that volatility dominated the domestic market, with broad-based profit booking seen amid continued FII outflows, despite supportive Asian market.
“Early optimism from the inclusion of four Indian companies in the MSCI Global Standard Index and strong U.S. macro data was offset by weak domestic PMI readings, indicating softening sentiment. Most sectors traded lower, though IT stocks remained resilient, supported by in-line earnings and improvement in US macro data. Amid overall caution, selective buying emerged in fundamentally strong companies due to better-than-expected Q2 earnings,” he added.
Among the top gainers were Asian Paints, which jumped 4.76%, followed by Reliance Industries that gained 1.62%. Mahindra & Mahindra advanced 1.02%, UltraTech Cement rose 1%, and Tata Consultancy Services added 0.71%. Maruti Suzuki also saw mild gains of 0.58%, adding strength to the market’s opening momentum.
Power Grid Corporation was the worst performer, slipping 3.15%. Eternal fell 2.44%, Bharat Electronics dropped 1.67%, Bajaj Finance lost 1.45%, and ICICI Bank declined 1.21%.