India's benchmark stock indices declined marginally through midday on Thursday after swinging between gains in early trade.
As of 12:10 a.m., the S&P BSE Sensex was 195.98 points, or 0.30%, down at 65,586.80, while the NSE Nifty 50 was 50.5 points, or 0.26%, lower at 19,476.05.
The pharmaceutical and media sectors advanced in trade, while realty was under pressure. During the day, Nifty Pharma surged 2.07% to a record high of 15,253.20 points.
Shares in Asia fell for a third day following losses on Wall Street as better-than-expected U.S. labour-market data boosted speculation that the Federal Reserve will maintain its tight policy for longer. European equity futures were slightly lower, while U.S. contracts traded mostly flat after the worst day in three months for the S&P 500.
On Wednesday, the S&P 500 declined 1.4%, its worst day since April, stemming a recent rally partly driven by investor demand for artificial-intelligence stocks. That excitement appeared to abate as the Nasdaq 100 fell 2.2% and Qualcomm Inc. slid on a tepid revenue forecast in late Wednesday trading.
HDFC Bank Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd., Infosys Ltd. and NTPC Ltd. were positively contributing to the change in the Nifty 50.
ICICI Bank Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Ltd. and Titan Co. weighed on the index.
The broader market indices outperformed their larger peers. The S&P BSE Midcap was up 0.23%, while the S&P BSE Smallcap was 0.35% higher.
Twelve out of the 20 sectors compiled by the BSE Ltd. declined, while eight advanced. S&P BSE Healthcare rose the most, while S&P BSE Realty and the S&P BSE Metal fell the most.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of the buyers. About 1,893 stocks rose, 1,460 declined, and 169 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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