The Indian stock market faced a tough day on Thursday, with the BSE Sensex experiencing a significant decline, closing down by 200 points. This marks the index’s fifth consecutive session of losses, driven by sell-offs in key sectors such as real estate, information technology, and automobiles. While the market initially opened on a positive note, peaking at 74,401.11, it quickly lost momentum due to ongoing selling pressures from major blue-chip stocks.

Market Performance Overview

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 200.85 points, or 0.27%, ultimately settling at 73,828.91. In the day’s trading, 22 components of the index faced declines, while only eight managed to post gains. At one point, it dipped to a low of 73,770.59, reflecting a drop of 259.17 points or 0.35% from earlier highs.

NSE Nifty’s Struggles

Similarly, the NSE Nifty recorded a fall of 73.30 points, or 0.33%, closing at 22,397.20. The index touched an intraday low of 22,377.35, indicating a 93.15-point decline, or 0.41%. Over the last week, both indices saw losses, with the Nifty down 0.69% and the Sensex slipping 0.68%.

Sectoral Analysis

• Lagging Sectors:

  • Realty
  • Auto
  • Consumer Discretionary
  • Metal
  • Services
  • Commodities
  • Consumer Durables
  • Teck
  • IT
  • Focused IT
  • Energy
• Gaining Sectors:
  • Bankex
  • Power

On Thursday, the broader market also struggled, with the BSE small-cap index declining by 0.62% and the mid-cap index falling 0.77%. Notably, 2,457 stocks saw declines compared to 1,518 that advanced, while 130 remained unchanged.

Market Capitalization Decline

The market capitalization of companies listed on the BSE dropped by a staggering ₹1,71,623.67 crore, bringing the total to approximately ₹3,91,12,994.41 crore (around USD 4.49 trillion).

With a local holiday on Friday, Indian markets will remain closed, leaving investors to reflect on the recent downturn. Last week, the blue-chip indices had shown resilience, rising nearly 2%, marking their best performance in three months.

In summary, the Indian stock market is currently navigating a challenging period, with various sectors under pressure and investor sentiment cautious as they await the next move.