MUMBAI: The Indian stock market declined on Thursday, tracking a surge in crude oil prices, foreign fund outflows and weak cues from Asian markets.
At the close, the Sensex settled 852.49 points, or 1.09 per cent, lower at 77,664, while the broader Nifty declined 205.05 points, or 0.84 per cent, to 24,173.05. The Nifty Smallcap100 and Nifty Midcap100 indices traded flat.
The cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to slightly above Rs 466 lakh crore from more than Rs 469 lakh crore.
Among the sectors, 12 of the 16 major sectoral indices were in the red. Auto stocks declined 1.3 per cent and were among the top losers. Financial heavyweights also slipped 0.8 per cent. Pharma stocks rose 2.3 per cent on growth expectations.
Nifty PSU Bank index crashed 2.19%, while the Private Bank index dropped 1.31%. The Nifty Bank index suffered a loss of 1.43%, and the Financial Services index declined 1.42%.
ICICI Bank fell 1.6 per cent, and HDFC Bank was down 0.8 per cent.
The Indian rupee extended its losses for the fourth consecutive session, slipping 34 paise to 94.12 against the US dollar.
On the Nifty, the top losers were Trent, M&M, Shriram Finance, SBI Life Insurance, and Tech Mahindra. Gainers included Dr Reddy’s Labs, Cipla, Jio Financial, Adani Enterprises, and Apollo Hospitals.
Around 140 stocks touched their 52-week highs on the BSE. These included GE Vernova TD, Welspun Corp, Glenmark Pharma, Data Patterns, Hitachi Energy, Himadri Speciality Chemical, Lupin, Torrent Power, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Schneider Infra, Granules India, NALCO, Aurobindo Pharma, Adani Green Energy, Timken, HEG, JSW Energy, CG Power, Siemens, Lloyds Metals, among others.
In stock-specific action, Jio Financial Services gained 4% after signing an agreement with Allianz Group, while L&T Technology Services slipped nearly 3%.
Tech Mahindra’s stock fell as much as 2.5%, and SBI Life Insurance fell 3%.
Brent Crude prices rose 2% to trade levels beyond $103 a barrel amid a fresh escalation of tensions between the US and Iran.
Agencies