Stock Market: Sensex Drops 143 Points; Nifty Ends Below 19,400 On Volatility. Realty Gains, Oil & Gas Slips

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, HUL, TechM, Infosys, Reliance, Bajaj Finance, TCS emerged losers. M&M, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, L&T, and Maruti were among gainers

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index added 0.06 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index sank 0.27 per cent.

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday again closed in the red on the day of weekly F&O expiry amid volatility. The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 64,832, down 143 points. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 19,395, down 48 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, HUL, TechM, Infosys, Reliance, Bajaj Finance, TCS emerged losers. On the flip side, M&M, PowerGrid, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, L&T, and Maruti were among gainers. M&M was the top gainer, up 4.09 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index added 0.06 per cent, while the BSE Smallcap index sank 0.27 per cent.

Sectorally, the Nifty Realty index gained over 1 per cent, followed by the Nifty Auto index (up 0.8 per cent). The Nifty Oil & Gas, FMCG, and IT indices, declined up to 1 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at 64,976, up 33 points or 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty50 shut shop at 19,444, up 37 points or 0.19 per cent.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Shanghai were trading in the positive territory while Hong Kong quoted lower. The US markets ended on a mixed note on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.23 per cent to $79.72 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 84.55 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, the rupee stayed range-bound and settled 1 paisa higher at 83.29 against the US dollar on Thursday amid a negative trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows. At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 83.25 and finally settled at 83.29 against the greenback, registering a gain of 1 paisa from its previous close.

During the day, the rupee witnessed a range-bound trade reaching the peak of 83.25 and hitting the lowest level of 83.29 against the American currency. On Wednesday, the rupee closed at 83.30 against the American currency.