On BSE, overall market breadth remained weak as 1,170 shares advanced while 2,182 declined.
new Delhi: Indian equity indices continued to fall for the third consecutive session on Thursday, driven by fall in pharma stocks. Investors became cautious amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. The benchmark BSE Sensex closed 59 points or 0.10 per cent lower at 57,833; While the broader NSE Nifty closed 28 points or 0.16 per cent lower at 17,276. Both the indices fluctuated between gains and losses throughout the session before settling in the red.
Mid- and small-cap stocks ended on a negative note as the Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 0.91 per cent and small-cap stocks by 1.06 per cent.
Of the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange, 11 closed in the red. Nifty Pharma, Nifty Auto and Nifty IT lost 0.87 per cent, 0.63 per cent and 0.44 per cent, respectively, in the index.
On the stock-specific front, ONGC was the top gainer in Nifty as the stock fell 2.18 per cent to Rs 168. Divi’s Lab, Cipla, UltraTech Cement and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) were also among the laggards.
In contrast, Coal India, SBI Life, Bajaj Auto, HDFC and Larsen & Toubro (L&T) were among the gainers.
On BSE, overall market breadth remained weak as 1,170 shares advanced while 2,182 declined.
UltraTech Cement, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, Reliance Industries and Nestle India were the biggest losers on the 30-share platform of the BSE, falling 2.03 per cent in their shares.
Since the beginning of this week, both the domestic markets have seen trading in tandem with cues from the global markets.
Meanwhile, foreign investors have sold a net $6.41 billion in Indian equities so far this year, compared to a net purchase of $5.82 billion in the same period last year.
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