The NSE Nifty 50 and BSE Sensex ended lower for a second consecutive session on Thursday, while market participants await the outcome of the Reserve Bank of India's Monetary Policy Committee's meeting. Trent Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. share prices weighed on the benchmarks the most.
The Nifty 50 ended 92.95 points or 0.39% down at 23,603.35, and the Sensex settled 138.05 points or 0.18% lower at 78,133.23.
The rate-setting panel is expected to cut the benchmark repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, according to a Bloomberg poll. Market participants will also assess RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra's speech and policy statement to get fresh cues about the central bank's view.
During the session, the Nifty 50 fell 0.59% to the day's low of 23,556.25, and the Sensex fell 0.55% to the day's low of 78,551.66.
"Among the sectors, pharmaceuticals and IT stood out as the top performers, while realty and FMCG faced the steepest declines. A noticeable divergence emerged in the broader market, with the midcap correcting over 1%, while the smallcap more or less mirrored the movement of Nifty 50," said Aditya Gaggar, director of Progressive Share Brokers Pvt.
On the daily chart, Nifty 50 formed a bearish candlestick pattern, he added. However, the downside appears to be supported at the 23,520 level, while a break above 23,800 would be necessary to confirm the continuation of the uptrend, the analyst further said.
Trent was the top loser, as it weight the most heavily on the Nifty 50. The scrip settled 8.38% lower at Rs 5,268 apiece on the NSE. Bharti Airtel closed 2.32% lower at Rs 1,621.9 per share.
The stocks of State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro Ltd. also weighed on the Nifty 50. On the other hand, HDFC Bank Ltd., Infosys Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Reliance Industries Ltd. and Cipla Ltd. added to the benchmark index.
The BSE Midcap ended 0.87% down, while the BSE Smallcap ended flat.
On BSE, 16 sectors advanced and five declined out of 21. The BSE Consumer Durables declined the most, and the BSE Focused IT rose the most.
Market breadth was largely split between buyers and sellers. Around 2,006 stocks advanced, 1,962 stocks declined, and 131 stocks remained unchanged on BSE.
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