Indian equity benchmarks extended their losses in afternoon trading on Thursday, dragged down by heavy selling in auto stocks. Bajaj Auto emerged as the biggest laggard after shedding nearly 12% despite reporting strong quarterly results.
The BSE Sensex traded at 81,075.83, down 425.53 points or 0.52% from its previous close at 12:31 PM, retreating sharply from its opening level 81,758.07. The broader NSE Nifty50 fell to 24,796.70, declining 174.60 points or 0.70%, after starting the day at 25,027.40.
Market breadth remained significantly negative, with 2,564 stocks declining compared to 1,273 advances on the BSE. While 223 stocks hit their 52-week highs, 25 touched their 52-week lows. Circuit filters were triggered for 486 stocks, with 276 hitting upper circuits and 210 touching lower circuits.
Among sectoral indices, auto stocks faced severe pressure. Bajaj Auto plummeted 11.69%, followed by Hero MotoCorp dropping 3.26% and Mahindra & Mahindra declining 2.87%. FMCG major Nestle India fell 3.09%, while Shriram Finance shed 2.68%.
Technology stocks provided some support, with Infosys leading the gainers’ pack, rising 2%. Other notable gainers included the State Bank of India, advancing 1.25%; Tech Mahindra, up 0.97%; Power Grid Corporation, gaining 0.70%; and Hindalco, adding 0.62%.
Broader market indices showed deeper cuts, with the Nifty Next 50 falling 1.68% to 74,424.15 and the Nifty Midcap Select declining 0.91% to 13,034.40. Banking and financial services stocks also struggled, as evidenced by the Nifty Bank index dropping 0.95% to 51,307.30 and the Nifty Financial Services index declining 1.16% to 23,605.75.
The market weakness follows continuing foreign institutional investor (FII) selling, with FIIs offloading ₹3,436 crore worth of shares in the previous session. Domestic institutional investors (DIIs) provided some support by purchasing ₹2,256.29 crore worth of equities.
Trading remains cautious amid mixed global cues, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and concerns about China’s economic growth, even as US markets showed some recovery in their previous session on the back of strong corporate earnings.