- Indian equities declined with Nifty down 0.38% at 22,535.60 by midday
- Midcap stocks like PB Fintech and Chennai Petroleum saw sharp losses over 4%
- Smallcap benchmark Nifty smallcap 250 fell 1.3%, led by IRCON and Sansera drops
Indian equities remained under pressure on Thursday, with selling spreading across the broader market as investors continued to remain cautious amid weak global cues. The Nifty 50 was down 0.38% at 22,535.60, while the BSE Sensex declined 274.81 points, or 0.38%, to 72,205.48 at around 12:15 p.m.
The weakness was more visible across midcap and smallcap stocks, with several stocks witnessing sharper declines than the benchmark indices. Persistent foreign selling, elevated global borrowing costs, fluctuations in crude oil prices, a weaker rupee and broader geopolitical uncertainty are among the factors weighing on market sentiment. Easing crude prices provided some relief, but not sufficient to offset the broader risk-off sentiment.
PB Fintech, Chennai Petroleum Among Major Midcap Losers
PB Fintech was among the biggest losers in the midcap universe, falling 5.86% to Rs 1,001.20, around 12:20 p.m. today. Chennai Petroleum Corporation followed with a decline of around 4.2% to Rs 1,375.70, while IFCI slipped 4.2% to Rs 65.9 apiece on the NSE.
More midcap stocks are trading in red, including Lloyds Metals and Energy down 4.78% to Rs 1,794, while Blue Star declined 3.83% to Rs 1,459.80, and Escorts Kubota dropped over 4% to Rs 2,605.
Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals fell 0.08% to Rs 164.08, while Lodha Developers declined 2.48% to Rs 1,107.5.
By 12:26 p.m., the benchmark, Nifty Midcap 150, fell by 0.9% to 21,671.5 level.
Smallcap Stocks Also Face Selling Pressure
The selling was even sharper across several smallcap names, while the smallcap benchmark, Nifty smallcap 250, was down 1.3% to 17,571.6 level itself.
IRCON International declined 6% to Rs 110.11, while Sansera Engineering fell 6.02% to Rs 4,264.4, followed by CMPDI, which tanked more than 5% to Rs 198.55 until 12:29 p.m.
The broader market weakness comes as investors remain cautious amid elevated global bond yields, crude oil volatility and continued foreign fund outflows. The rupee has also faced pressure from higher oil prices and rising global yields, adding to the headwinds for Indian equities.
With selling extending from largecaps to midcaps and smallcaps, Thursday's session highlighted the broad-based nature of the market pressure rather than weakness being limited to a handful of benchmark stocks.
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