Share market today: The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday extended their losses and closed in the red as investors booked profits in heavyweights ahead of the announcement of key financial results for the June quarter.
The BSE Sensex closed 27 points lower at 79,897. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 24,316, down 8.5 points. The BSE benchmark had hit an intraday low of 79,464 and the NSE benchmark had touched 24,194.
Stock update
On the 30-share Sensex platform, Bajaj Finance, M&M, NTPC, Nestle, PowerGrid, Sun Pharma emerged losers. On the flip side, ITC, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, SBI, Titan, Tata Steel were among the gainers.
In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index advanced 0.34 per cent while the BSE Smallcap gained 0.57 per cent.
Sectoral update
Sectorally, IT index became the top gainer. Nifty Media index closed 1 per cent higher. Nifty FMCG rose 0.3 per cent. On the downside, the Nifty Realty dropped 1.5 per cent.
In the previous session on Wednesday, the BSE benchmark closed lower by 427 points at 79,924. The NSE Nifty, on the other hand, declined 109 points to close at 24,324.
"The main indices are trading in a narrow range, struggling to justify its premium valuation ahead of the Q1 earnings season, which is forecast to be subdued," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services said.
Global update
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Hong Kong settled higher. European markets were trading in positive territory. US markets ended significantly higher on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 583.96 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.21 per cent to $85.26 a barrel.
Rupee dips 5 paise
The rupee settled for the day 5 paise lower at 83.56 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by a weak tone in domestic markets and a recovery in crude oil prices. Forex traders said rupee traded with a slight negative bias on profit booking in the domestic market, which may result in foreign fund outflows.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened at 83.49, but lost ground and touched an intraday low of 83.59 against the American currency during the session.
It finally settled at 83.56 (provisional) against the dollar, 5 paisa lower than its previous close. On Wednesday, the rupee stayed range-bound and settled 2 paise lower at 83.51 against the US dollar.