A bird flies past a screen displaying Sensex results on the façade of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai. , File photo | photo credit: Reuters
Equity benchmark Sensex on Thursday declined nearly 540 points in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank amid heavy selling in index heavyweights Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv and ICICI Bank amid a sluggish trend in global markets.
Besides, weakness in the rupee against major currencies overseas also weighed on sentiment, traders said.
BSE’s 30-share Sensex opened strongly, snapping three-day gains, but closed 541.81 points, or 0.90 per cent, lower at 59,806.28 amid heavy selling pressure.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 164.80 points, or 0.93 per cent, to 17,589.60.
M&M was the top gainer in the Sensex pack, falling as much as 3.31 per cent, followed by Reliance Industries, Bajaj Finserv, ICICI Bank, Maruti, Tata Motors and Tech Mahindra.
On the other hand, Tata Steel, L&T, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel and HDFC Bank were among the gainers.
Sector-wise, heavy selling was seen in BSE Auto and consumer durables during the session.
In the broader markets, BSE Midcap fell 0.55 per cent and Smallcap slipped 0.20 per cent.
Shares in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Seoul ended in the red, while Tokyo ended 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.
The rupee declined 7 paise to close at 82.02 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net buyers in the capital market on Wednesday as they bought shares worth ₹3,671.56 crore, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.01 per cent to USD 82.65 per barrel.