Sensex and Nifty closed lower on Thursday as concerns grew over the impact of US reciprocal tariffs set to take effect from April 2, inducing profit booking from investors. Benchmark indices snapped their seven-day winning streak, as investors turned cautious ahead of the monthly expiry.
The Nifty started the day on a flat note and moved within a narrow range during the early trading hours. However, selling pressure in the latter half led to a decline by the end of the session.
The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 728.69 points to close at 77,288.50, while the NSE Nifty50 fell 181.80 points, ending the session at 23,486.85.
The weakness in the main indices also weighed on broader markets, with both smallcap and midcap segments seeing sharp declines.
Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said, “Participants are booking profits ahead of the March derivatives contract expiry, while concerns over tariff discussions continue to weigh on sentiment.”
TOP LOSERS, GAINERS ON BSE SENSEX
IndusInd Bank emerged as the top performer, with a robust 2.94% surge on BSE Sensex.
HCLTech and M&M followed suit, gaining 0.43% and 0.22% respectively.
Titan and Power Grid Corporation also showed positive momentum, each climbing 0.07%.
On the downside, the market witnessed significant pressure from the below top losers.
NTPC led the decline, dropping 3.54%, followed by Zomato with a 3.10% fall.
Tech Mahindra experienced a 2.85% slide, while Bajaj Finance and Axis Bank rounded out the losers, tumbling 2.28% and 2.14% respectively.
NSE NIFTY50 LOSERS AND GAINERS
IndusInd Bank emerged as the top performer, rising 3.34%. Trent followed closely, gaining 2.37%.
Hero MotoCorp climbed 0.69%. Grasim Industries joined the gainers’ list with a modest 0.61% increase, while Power Grid Corporation rounded out the top performers with a 0.45% rise.
NTPC led the declining stocks, tumbling 3.52%. Tech Mahindra followed closely, experiencing a sharp drop of 3.09%. Cipla also faced significant selling pressure, sliding 2.49%.
Axis Bank and Bajaj Finance rounded out the top losers, falling 2.19% and 2.18% respectively.