Indian equity benchmarks are extending their losing streak for the fifth consecutive session on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex falling over 700 points by afternoon trading amid broad-based selling pressure and weak global cues.
The 30-share BSE Sensex was trading at 79,363.71, down 701.45 points or 0.88 per cent at 1.00 PM, after opening at 80,187.34. Similarly, the NSE Nifty 50 declined 269 points or 1.10 per cent to 24,130.40, compared to its previous close of 24,399.40.
The market breadth remained significantly negative with 3,196 stocks declining versus 639 advances on the BSE. The selloff intensity was evident as 439 stocks hit their lower circuit compared to 150 stocks touching upper circuit limits. Additionally, 208 stocks touched their 52-week lows while 108 stocks reached 52-week highs.
IndusInd Bank was the biggest laggard, plummeting 18.41 per cent, followed by Mahindra & Mahindra dropping 5.02 per cent. Other major losers included NTPC (-4.77 per cent), Adani Enterprises (-4.61 per cent), and Shriram Finance (-4.49 per cent).
The broader market witnessed deeper cuts with the Nifty Next 50 falling 1.87 per cent and Nifty Midcap Select declining 2.03 per cent. The banking sector remained under pressure as Nifty Bank shed 1.70 per cent to trade at 50,655.80.
Among the gainers, ITC led the pack rising 2.19 per cent, followed by Hindustan Unilever (1.01 per cent), Axis Bank (0.89 per cent), Sun Pharma (0.86 per cent), and Nestle India (0.76 per cent).
The market sentiment remained bearish following continued selling by Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs), who offloaded equities worth Rs 5,062 crore on October 24, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 3,620 crore.
The morning started on a negative note, with GIFT Nifty indicating losses, following the previous session’s sideways movement where early gains were erased. Market volatility measure India VIX traded lower at 13.97, down 4.46 per cent from the previous session.
The broader market showed significant weakness with 81.57 per cent of BSE stocks trading in the red. Financial services stocks witnessed relatively lower impact, with the Nifty Financial Services index dropping 0.76 per cent to 23,672.15.
