Stock Market Snaps Winning Run: Sensex Plunges 542 Points, Nifty Slips Below 17,600. Auto, IT, FMCG Down

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Reliance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Tata Motors were the prime laggards

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday snapped their three-day winning run and ended lower as investors adjusted their positions amid the weekly F&O expiry.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 542 points (0.9 per cent) to close at 59,806 level. On the other hand, the Nifty50 ended at 17,590, falling 165 points (0.93 per cent).

On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Reliance, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Tata Motors were the prime laggards. On the Nifty, Adani Enterprises (down 5 per cent), SBI Life, Adani Ports, and Eicher Motors were the additional draggers. On the flip side, Tata Steel, L&T, Airtel, Axis Bank, NTPC, Nestle emerged winners.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices succumbed to late sell-off and slipped up to 0.55 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty Auto index slumped 1.8 per cent; and the Nifty IT, PSU Bank, FMCG, and Realty indices fell 1 per cent each.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex, which hit an early morning low of 59,845, ended at 60,348, up 124 points or 0.21 per cent. On the other hand, the Nifty50 recouped from a low of 17,602, to end at 17,754, up 43 points or 0.24 per cent.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Seoul settled in the red while Tokyo closed with gains. Equities in Europe were also trading with significant losses in mid-session deals. Equities on Wall Street closed mixed in the overnight session.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude futures declined 0.01 per cent to $82.65 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 3,671.56 crore, according to exchange data.

The rupee pared its initial gains and settled for the day lower by 7 paise at 82.02 (provisional) against the US currency on Thursday tracking a muted trend in domestic equities. At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 81.93 against the greenback and closed at 82.02 (provisional), registering a fall of 7 paise over its previous close of 81.95.

During the session, the domestic unit witnessed an intra-day high of 81.77 and a low of 82.02 against the American dollar. Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 per cent lower at 105.42.