Mumbai– The Indian stock market closed lower on Thursday as investors booked profits following a strong seven-day bull run. Sentiment was further dampened by geopolitical tensions stemming from the Pahalgam terror attack and the expiry of April derivatives contracts on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
The Sensex opened slightly lower at 80,058 and briefly touched an intraday high of 80,174 in early trade. However, sustained selling pressure throughout the session pulled the index down, hitting an intraday low of 79,725 before settling at 79,801, down 315 points. This marked the end of the Sensex’s seven-day winning streak, during which it had surged by 6,269 points.
The Nifty followed a similar trajectory, fluctuating within a narrow 131-point range between a high of 24,348 and a low of 24,216. It eventually closed at 24,247, down 82 points. Despite Thursday’s decline, the Nifty posted a gain of 656 points, or 2.8 percent, over the April futures and options series.
“Markets traded within a tight range and ended slightly lower on the monthly expiry day of the April derivatives contracts,” said Ajit Mishra, Senior Vice President of Research at Religare Broking Ltd. “This phase of consolidation aligns with expectations and could continue in the near term. We recommend focusing on selective stock opportunities and using market dips as buying opportunities.”
Among the top laggards, Hindustan Unilever fell 4 percent after reporting a slight decline in its March-quarter net profit. Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, and Eternal (Zomato) also ended 1-2 percent lower. On the positive side, IndusInd Bank emerged as the top gainer, rising over 3 percent, followed by UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors, and Titan, which also closed in the green.
In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index slipped 0.2 percent, while the SmallCap index ended flat.
Sector-wise, FMCG stocks faced selling pressure, with the BSE FMCG index falling 0.8 percent. Realty stocks also weakened, dragging the BSE Realty index down by 1.4 percent. Banking stocks saw mild selling, with the BSE Bankex shedding 0.4 percent. However, healthcare stocks attracted buying interest, pushing the sectoral index up by 0.6 percent.
Cement stocks were among the top performers during the session. Market analysts noted that profit-taking was expected following the recent strong rally, and geopolitical concerns added to the cautious sentiment.
“Investors will now turn their focus to upcoming corporate earnings and global market cues for further direction,” analysts said. (Source: IANS)
