Sensex tanks 539 points, Nifty drops below 24,100 dragged by HDFC Bank
Stock markets declined for the second consecutive day on Thursday, with the benchmark Sensex dropping by 539 points due to last-minute selling in blue-chip shares such as HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 539.35 points, or 0.70 per cent, to settle at the day’s low of 76,933.59 on the monthly derivatives-expiry day. The index traded with a negative bias for most of the day and fell sharply in the last 15 minutes of the session.
Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 116.90 points, or 0.48 per cent, to end at the day’s low of 24,090.85.
HDFC Bank was the biggest loser among 30 Sensex firms, dropping by 2.08 per cent following news of a US class-action lawsuit. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries fell by 1 per cent, dragging the index down. Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Tech and ITC were also among major laggards.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Bharat Electronics were among the winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, edged higher by 0.67 per cent to $88.43 per barrel.
“Expiry-led volatility and the lack of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East continue to keep markets range-bound in the near term,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
“Indian equity markets ended lower on Thursday as domestic headwinds outweighed supportive global cues, with broad-based selling across key sectors offsetting the relief from softer crude oil prices and easing concerns over the Strait of Hormuz,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
The Nifty remained under pressure through the session as weakness in heavyweight financial stocks and continued selling in PSU banks, FMCG, services and IT weighed on sentiment, he said.
