Indian Stock Market Closes Lower: Sensex Falls 456 Points, Nifty Ends Below 24,600
The Indian stock market ended lower as the Sensex dropped 455.59 points and the Nifty slipped to 24,570.65 amid weakness in banking and financial stocks and concerns over global crude oil prices.
Prasanth Subramani
The Indian stock market ended lower after two consecutive sessions of gains, with benchmark indices closing in the red amid weakness in banking and financial stocks. Investor sentiment was also weighed down by uncertainty surrounding developments in the Strait of Hormuz and elevated global crude oil prices.
The BSE Sensex declined by 455.59 points to close at 78,499.17. During the trading session, the index dropped as much as 577.69 points to an intraday low of 78,377.07 before recovering some of its losses.
The NSE Nifty 50 also ended lower, falling 65.35 points to settle at 24,570.65. The benchmark index touched an intraday low of 24,522.75 before trimming part of the decline by the close.
Despite positive corporate earnings, the market remained under pressure due to uncertainty over the Strait of Hormuz negotiations, weakness in financial sector stocks, and concerns over rising energy costs.
Among the major gainers on the Sensex were Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mahindra & Mahindra, State Bank of India (SBI), and Tech Mahindra. On the other hand, Bajaj Finance plunged 5.90%, while Bajaj Finserv declined 4.18%. ICICI Bank, Trent, Axis Bank, and Asian Paints also ended the session with notable losses.
The market also continued to react to the introduction of India's new auction-based mechanism for eligible stocks in the cash segment. The new closing auction session, implemented from Monday, is designed to improve price discovery and enhance transparency in determining the final closing prices of eligible securities.
In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 closed lower, while China's Shanghai Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended the day with gains. European markets traded in positive territory, whereas U.S. markets had closed lower in the previous session.
According to exchange data, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers, offloading shares worth ₹17.86 crore during the previous trading session.
Meanwhile, global Brent crude oil prices were trading at around $82.20 per barrel, reflecting a decline of 0.35%, though concerns over energy prices and geopolitical developments continue to influence investor sentiment.
