The restraint on part of investors was chiefly because of RBI's minutes of its December policy meeting, which showed that some members were concerned about rising oil prices, its inflationary impact and possibility of fiscal slippage.
The 30-share Sensex dropped 298 points to end at 27,209 and the 50-share Nifty has lost 93 points to end at 8,174.
The laggards include FMCG (16 per cent), Energy (37 per cent) and Media (34 per cent).
Among the Sensex firms, HCL Technologies fell the most by 2.4 per cent. IndusInd Bank (2.35 per cent), Infosys (2.28 per cent), Wipro (1.8 per cent), NTPC (1.71 per cent), Asian Paints (1.7 per cent), Tata Consultancy Services (1.36 per cent),Tech Mahindra (1.03 per cent) and SBI (1 per cent) were among the major laggards.
Benchmark BSE Sensex rose by 156 points while the Nifty closed above the 17,300 level on Thursday after gains in metal, IT and capital goods shares amid foreign capital inflows. The 30-share BSE benchmark gained 156.63 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 58,222.10. During the day, it jumped 513.29 points or 0.88 per cent to 58,578.76.
tailwinds of a remarkable year and handsome investor returns, Indian equities are set for an eventful journey in 2024, with a slew of local and global cues -- varying from interest rates to Lok Sabha polls to geopolitical happenings. Analysts are of the view that the bull run in the domestic equity market will continue, and over the next 3-6 months, the benchmark indices -- Sensex and Nifty -- could climb up to 7 per cent. In 2023, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 11,399.52 points or 18.73 per cent, and the NSE Nifty climbed 3,626.1 points or 20 per cent.
Top losers include Hero MotoCorp, HDFC, SBI, Infosys, HCL Tech, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finance, ONGC, Bajaj Auto and IndusInd Bank, falling up to 2.63 per cent.
In the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel was the top performer, surging 4.61%. Other gainers included ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, L&T, Sun Pharma, RIL, HDFC duo, Tata Motors and M&M -- climbing up to 3.69%.
Late selling in blue-chips like Reliance Industries, ITC, Infosys, TCS and Bharti Airtel dragged down the index from the record level to close flat.
Persistent capital inflows by domestic institutional investors and retail investors kept the markets in fine nick
The Sensex closed the day at 28,141, up 486 points, while Nifty50 settled at 8,716, up 155 points.
Kotak Mahindra Bank was the biggest loser from the Sensex pack, skidding 1.83 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, IndusInd Bank and Nestle. In contrast, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Titan, Infosys, HDFC Bank, HDFC and ITC were the gainers.
'Like every Budget, this time, too, there is chatter around tinkering with the long-term capital gains tax.' 'Investors may not want to jump into the markets until there is clarity on this front.'
Sentiment was largely positive after April IIP grew at 4.9 per cent, spurred by higher growth in manufacturing and mining sectors.
Mixed earnings and not so encouraging macroeconomic data dented sentiment, Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd said. In twin blows to Indian economic revival, higher food prices drove retail inflation to a five-month high of 7.4 per cent, while factory output fell for the first time in 18 months. The second consecutive month of rise in consumer price index (CPI)-based inflation will add to the pressure on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to again raise interest rates to tame high prices. In the broader market, BSE Midcap declined 0.73 per cent while smallcap dropped 0.45 per cent.
Banking stocks felt the heat due to worries that the lending rate cuts will hit their bottom line
Asian shares ended higher following a relief rally in global equities after centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron won the first round of the French presidential election.
Investors booked profits in range-bound trade, led by PSU, oil & gas, energy, infrastructure, telecom, realty, healthcare, bankex, FMCG, capital goods and power counters.
In 10 sessions Sensex rose over 8%
Investors' wealth fell by Rs 2.89 lakh crore in two days of market fall, with the BSE Sensex tumbling 796 points on Wednesday, amid weak global market trends ahead of the US Federal Reserve's interest rate decision. Fresh foreign fund outflows and caution ahead of a host of interest rate decisions from global central banks also added to the overall bearish trend. Besides, the US Fed meeting, the BoE (Bank of England) and the BoJ (Bank of Japan) are also scheduled to meet this week.
Major gainers in the Sensex pack were Hero Motocorp, which rallied 7.01 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel (6.69 per cent), Yes Bank (5.30 per cent), Adani Ports (4.90 per cent), Tata Steel (3.75 per cent) and Bajaj Auto (3.70 per cent).
Investors have kept their eyes on US-China trade talks and are optimistic about a positive outcome.
On the sectoral map, consumer durables stayed in the lead by surging 2.39 per cent, followed by realty index, oil and gas and infra.
Metal stocks were trading under pressure while IT, auto, realty stocks gained in today's deals
Broader market outperformed the frontline indices and also hit their respective all-time highs
Top gainers among the S&P BSE Sensex include GAIL, Dr Reddy's Laboratories and Bharti Airtel, all edging up by 1% in late morning deals
This was the biggest single-day fall for the benchmark index since August 10 when it had fallen by 310 points.
Maruti Suzuki was the biggest gainer among Sensex scrips, rising 5.89 per cent, followed by M&M up 5.29 per cent.
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Steel, ITC, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti, Mahindra & Mahindra and State Bank of India were the biggest winners. Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro and Tata Motors were the biggest laggards.
The benchmark Nifty rallied 1,000 points or 17% from 7,000 in 78 trading sessions since May 12, till date to surpass the 8,000 mark.
Broader gains were capped as investors awaited corporate results from major firms
The markets may be entering a consolidation phase and are expected to trade sideways for now after a good run in the last few weeks, suggest analysts. In this backdrop, they suggest investors can book profits at the current levels and enter the market again on a decline from a medium-to-long term perspective. Thus far in fiscal 2023-24 (FY24), the S&P BSE Sensex has moved up around 5 per cent to nearly 62,000 levels.
SBI had a bad day, sliding the most by 5.36%. Others that dragged the key indices down were M&M, Reliance Industries and L&T.
Weak GDP data and unfaouvrable global data has pulled down Sensex, Nifty.
India's equity markets are on a roller-coaster ride, after delivering spectacular returns for two consecutive years - in 2020 and 2021. The benchmark National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) Nifty50 is down 1.5 per cent in the first nine months of the current calendar year 2022 (CY22) as foreign portfolio investors sold Indian stocks due to rising bond yields in the US and across global markets, including India. The sell-off in the Indian equity markets has, however, not been broad-based and largely limited to sectors facing earnings headwinds from rising interest rates, lower commodity and energy prices, and likely economic recession in advanced economies.
The 30-share Sensex gained 271 points to end at 28,805 and the 50-share Nifty ended up 84 points at 8,712.
About 1,556 shares have advanced, 1,211 shares declined, and 182 shares are unchanged.
An expectation of tax sops in Budget, weakness of dollar and robust tax collection are adding positive sentiment
Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty ticked higher for the ninth straight session on Thursday, buoyed by fag-end buying in banking, financial and realty stocks amid encouraging domestic retail inflation data. Weak trends in IT counters and fall in the overnight US equity markets triggered by fresh concerns over recession, however, put a check on market's uptrend. In a largely subdued session, the 30-share BSE Sensex went up marginally by 38.23 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 60,431.
In the broader markets, the mid and smallcap indices were up 0.3% each, underperforming the BSE benchmark index which gained 0.5%.