Mumbai, Aug 27 (PTI) Stock markets declined for the second consecutive day on Thursday, with the benchmark Sensex dropping by 539 points due to last-minute selling in blue-chip shares such as HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries amid persistent geopolitical uncertainty. The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 539.35 points, or 0.70 per cent, to settle at the day’s low of 76,933.59 on the monthly derivatives-expiry day. The index traded with a negative bias for most of the day and fell sharply in the last 15 minutes of the session.
Similarly, the 50-share NSE Nifty declined 116.90 points, or 0.48 per cent, to end at the day’s low of 24,090.85.
HDFC Bank was the biggest loser among 30 Sensex firms, dropping by 2.08 per cent following news of a US class-action lawsuit. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries fell by 1 per cent, dragging the index down. Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Tech and ITC were also among major laggards.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra and Bharat Electronics were among the winners.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, edged higher by 0.67 per cent to USD 88.43 per barrel.
“Expiry-led volatility and the lack of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East continue to keep markets range-bound in the near term,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
“Indian equity markets ended lower on Thursday as domestic headwinds outweighed supportive global cues, with broad-based selling across key sectors offsetting the relief from softer crude oil prices and easing concerns over the Strait of Hormuz,” Ponmudi R, CEO of Enrich Money, an online trading and wealth tech firm, said.
The Nifty remained under pressure through the session as weakness in heavyweight financial stocks and continued selling in PSU banks, FMCG, services and IT weighed on sentiment, he said.
“HDFC Bank emerged as one of the key drags following news of a US class-action lawsuit, while cautious investor positioning ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech kept the benchmark confined to a narrow range,” Ponmudi added.
HDFC Bank declined 2.08 per cent to end at Rs 712 on the BSE.
The BSE MidCap Select index declined 0.47 per cent, while SmallCap Select Index ended largely flat, up 0.01 per cent.
Among BSE sectoral indices, MidSmall Private Banks tanked the most by 2.57 per cent. MidSmall Private Banks Quality Tilt (2.41 per cent), PSU Bank (2.12 per cent), Bankex (1.67 per cent), Private Banks index (1.19 per cent) and Top 10 Banks (1.07 per cent) also closed lower.
Capital Goods, Telecommunication, Healthcare and Industrials were the winners.
“Indian benchmark indices closed near their day’s lows as rising crude oil prices in the second half of the session and continued geopolitical concerns weighed on investor sentiment. The market also witnessed elevated intraday volatility due to the monthly Sensex expiry, which kept price action choppy throughout the day and capped any meaningful recovery,” according to Bajaj Broking Research.
In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi and Shanghai’s SSE Composite index ended higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index settled lower.
Markets in Europe were trading mostly lower. US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 502.63 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
On Wednesday, the Sensex declined 183.15 points, or 0.24 per cent, to settle at 77,472.94. The Nifty was down 126.80 points, or 0.52 per cent, to end at 24,207.75. PTI SUM MR
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