Stock Market: Sensex Sheds 147 Points, Nifty50 Closes Below 17,900. Reliance Slips 2 Per Cent

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Reliance, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, and others ended in the red

Sensex and Nifty, the two domestic equity benchmarks, on Thursday closed in negative territory ahead of the US inflation data and rising crude oil prices.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed at 59,958, down 147 points. On the other hand, Nifty50 closed at 17,858 levels, down 37 points. Throughout the day, the market mood remained subdued as Nifty50 hit day's low of 17,761 levels, down over 100 points, while the S&P BSE Sensex sank to 59,632 levels, down 450 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Reliance, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, Airtel, Bajaj Finserv, and others ended in the red. On the flip side, UltraCemco, L&T, HCL, Maruti, Nestle, PowerGrid, and others emerged winners.

Among individual stocks, shares of Nykaa, and Paytm dipped up to 9 per cent after their respective counters saw more than 20 million shares changing hands via block deals. Besides, shares of Varun Beverages were down for a third straight day, falling 4 per cent, amid heavy volumes.

In the broader markets, Nifty SmallCap 100 and Nifty MidCap 100 indices slipped up to 0.2 per cent.

Sectorwise, Nifty IT and Nifty Media indices defied the gloomy sentiments as they rose up to 0.8 per cent. Nifty FMCG and Nifty Bank indices, on the flipside, declined up to 0.4 per cent.

The S&P BSE Sensex closed 10 points lower at 60,106 after recouping 300 points from the day's low. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 index ended 18 points down at 17,896 after recovering from the session's low of 17,824.

The US equity futures edged lower in Thursday's trade ahead of the US inflation print. Experts expect easing in pricing pressure in the December inflation report. Key indices like Dow Jones Futures, the S&P 500 Futures, and NASDAQ Futures slipped up to 0.03 per cent.

European markets, however, were upbeat in trade this noon as Stoxx 600, FTSE 100, CAC 40 indices climbed up to 0.8 per cent.

Meanwhile, the rupee gained 11 paise to close at 81.57 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, tracking the overall weakness in the American currency. However, a muted trend in domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows capped the gains in the rupee, traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the local unit opened strong at 81.54, but lost ground to quote an intraday low of 81.74 against the greenback. It finally ended at 81.57 (provisional), registering a rise of 11 paise over its previous close.

On Wednesday, the rupee settled at 81.68 against the US dollar.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.92 per cent to $83.44 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 3,208.15 crore, according to exchange data.