Nifty, Sensex End Near Two-Month Low; Bajaj Auto, Shriram Finance Top Losers: Market Wrap
At close, Nifty fell 0.89% or 221.45 points to 24749.8 and Sensex ended 0.6% or 494.75 points lower at 81006.61.
India's benchmark equity indices extended losses for the third straight session to record their lowest closing in nearly two months on Thursday as some of the quarterly results of key companies failed to impress the market.
Investors now will assess the quarterly results of heavyweight IT companies, including Wipro and Infosys, to be announced later in the day, as well as those of Axis Bank for direction.
Additionally, on Friday markets will also react to a slew of economic data and events in the US and Europe, such as the ECB's monetary policy decision, US retail sales, and US unemployment claims.
At close, Nifty fell 0.89% or 221.45 points, to 24749.8 and Sensex ended 0.6% or 494.75 points, lower at 81006.61. Intraday, the Nifty fell 0.97%, and the Sensex fell 0.7%.
The Nifty finally broke its range of 24,920-25,200, said Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares. A break below 24,750 will drag the Nifty towards 24,430, and in the case of a reversal, 24,950 will be considered as immediate support," he said.
Shares of HDFC Bank Ltd., Bajaj Auto Ltd., Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Bharti Airtel Ltd., and ICICI Bank Ltd. dragged the Nifty.
While those of Infosys Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., State Bank of India Ltd., and Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd. cushioned the fall.
Except IT, all sectoral indices ended lower. Nifty Realty and Nifty Auto fell the most.
Market breadth was skewed in favour of sellers. Around 2,690 stocks declined, 1,273 stocks advanced, and 101 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.
Broader markets underperformed benchmark indices. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices settled 1.65% and 1.42% lower, respectively.
On BSE, 18 sectors declined and two advanced. The BSE Realty declined the most, while BSE IT rose the most.
