Stock markets update: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Thursday amid weak trends in Asian markets and unabated foreign fund outflows. In the early trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 250 points to 77,900. Meanwhile, the Nifty also declined 82 points to 23,605.25
Out of the 30 stocks in the Sensex, 23 were in the red today. Key laggards included Tata Motors, L&T, Zomato, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Power Grid, SBI, Bajaj Finance, and ICICI Bank. On the other hand, stocks such as Kotak Bank, M&M, Infosys, Asian Paints, ITC, Bharti Airtel, Nestle India, and HUL were among the few gainers, advancing by as much as 1.5 per cent. In the Nifty50 index, only 9 stocks managed to eke out gains, while a large portion, 40 stocks, traded in the negative zone.
Broader market performance
In the broader markets, both the Nifty MidCap and Nifty SmallCap indices saw a decline. The MidCap index dropped by 0.28 per cent, while the SmallCap index fell slightly by 0.06 per cent, reflecting a cautious sentiment among investors.
Sectoral outlook
Among sectors, the Nifty FMCG index showed slight resilience, gaining 0.1 per cent, while the Nifty Media index outperformed, climbing 1 per cent. However, most other indices were in the red. The Nifty Realty index suffered the most, down by 1.4 per cent, followed by a 0.5 per cent drop in the Nifty Metal index and a 0.3 per cent decline in the Nifty Bank index.
