Banking blues, investor jitters drag Sensex down for fourth day straight

From the Sensex pack, , Titan, , , and were the top laggards, falling 2-3%. , , , and also declined.

Shares of Nestle India on Thursday fell amid reports that the government has taken suo-motu cognisance of a report in Thursday's ToI publication, which said Nestle adds sugar to infant milk sold in less affluent nations, including India but not in its primary markets like Europe or the UK.

shares closed 13% higher after the company reported a net profit of Rs 115.6 crore in Q4FY24, up 32% from the same period last year.

The market capitalisation of all listed companies on BSE declined by Rs 1 lakh crore to Rs 393.26 lakh crore. The market breadth was skewed in the favour of the bears. About 1,930 stocks declined, 1,867 gained, and 132 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The Nifty IT index fell 0.23%, extending its selling streak to a fourth session, during which it has lost 5.08%. High weightage financials dropped nearly 1%, also extending losses for the fourth day.

Expert Views

"Domestic benchmarks extended losses amid mixed sentiments, emerged from escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and as hopes of US rate cuts waned. Investors are adapting to prolonged higher US interest rates due to strength in the labour market and progress in inflation so far. Meanwhile, investors will closely monitor the Q4 outcomes for further directions," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Shares, said, "With a bearish engulfing candlestick pattern, the index has broken its 50-DMA and long trendline support but currently, it is placed at the lower end of the rising channel. The activity of the upcoming day will decide the continuation or reversal of the trend."

Global Markets

Global markets showed signs of recovery in early European trading on Thursday, with stocks rising and the US dollar pulling back from recent gains, while finance chiefs of the US, Japan and Korea issued a rare warning about currency weakness.

Asian stocks made their biggest gains in a month and European stocks opened higher, helped by more positive company earnings. The MSCI World Equity Index was up 0.2% on the day, but still down 1.9% so far this week. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.2%, while London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3%.

Oil Extends Losses

Oil prices extended losses on Thursday after a 3% drop in the previous session, as investors switched focus to signs that a wider conflict in the key Middle East could be avoided, as well as demand concerns.

Brent futures were down 63 cents, or 0.72%, at $86.66 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures traded 64 cents lower, or 0.77%, at $82.05 a barrel.

Rupee at new record low

The Indian rupee logged a record closing low against the dollar on Thursday, but ended little changed as it was caught between equity outflows and a recovery in regional peers.

The rupee ended at 83.5375, its weakest close on record, compared with its previous close of 83.5350.

(With inputs from agencies)