Stock Market Snaps 2-Day Winning Run: Sensex Falls 187 Points, Nifty Holds 18,100 On Weak Global Cues

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paint, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, Titan, HUL were the main losers

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Thursday snapped two-day winning run and ended lower as global mood turned sour after weaker-than-expected US economic data.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 187 points or 0.3 per cent to close at 60,858 levels, while the NSE Nifty50 settled at 18,107, down 57 points or 0.3 per cent. During intraday trade, the 50-packed index slipped over 100 points to hit day's low of 18,063 and the S&P BSE Sensex lowered over 300 points to hit day's low of 60,716.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Asian Paint, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Kotak Bank, Titan, HUL were the main losers. On the flip side, Tata Steel, PowerGrid, TechM, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank emerged winners.

Among individual stocks, shares of Adani Enterprises (AEL) hit an over two-month low of Rs 3,463.50, down 4 per cent on the BSE in Thursday’s intra-day trade after the company set a price band of Rs 3,112-Rs 3,276 per share for its Rs 20,000-crore follow-on public offering (FPO).

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices declined up to 0.4 per cent.

Apart from Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Bank indices, which logged marginal gains, all sectors drowned in the sea of red. Nifty Media, and Nifty FMCG indices, were the worst hit as they fell up to 1 per cent.

The US equity futures were tepid in Thursday's trade ahead of economic data and speeches from Federal Reserve officials. Dow Jones Futures, the S&P 500 Futures, and NASDAQ Futures dropped up to 0.3 per cent. European markets, too, retreated in trade this noon as Stoxx 600, CAC 40, DAX, and FTSE 100, dropped up to 0.7 per cent.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex, which declined to a low of 60,569 during intraday trade, firmed up to close 390 points higher at 61,046. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 18,165, up 112 points.

Meanwhile, the rupee settled 7 paise lower at 81.37 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday, weighed down by a muted trend in domestic equities and foreign fund outflows.

At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.45 against the greenback, and finally settled at 81.37, down 7 paise over its previous close. During the session, the rupee also touched an intraday high of 81.27 against the American currency.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the rupee had settled at 81.30 against the US dollar. The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.21 per cent lower at 102.14.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.94 per cent to $84.18 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they offloaded shares worth Rs 319.23 crore, according to exchange data.