News

Stock Market Closing Bell: Indian equity benchmarks closed almost flat on Thursday after a volatile trading session, as uncertainty over a potential US–India trade agreement kept investors cautious.

The BSE Sensex settled at 84,481.81, down 77.84 points or 0.09 per cent, while the Nifty 50 ended nearly unchanged at 25,815.55, slipping 3 points or 0.01 per cent.

Markets witnessed a sharp intraday reversal, with early gains giving way to mild losses amid risk-off sentiment. Concerns over trade negotiations continued to cap upside, though a rebound in the rupee and signs of renewed foreign investor buying helped limit the downside

In the broader market, midcap and smallcap indices traded mixed, reflecting cautious and stock-specific participation.

On the sectoral front, media stocks declined, emerging as key laggards. Select FMCG and IT stocks also saw profit-taking, while banking and metal stocks provided some support to the benchmarks.

IT stocks outperformed, led by TCS (+1.94 per cent), Tech Mahindra (+1.72 per cent), Infosys (+1.51 per cent), and HCL Tech (+0.44 per cent), pushing the Nifty IT index up 1.21 per cent.

Gains were also seen in select banking and financial stocks such as Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, and Bajaj Finance, which helped limit the downside in frontline indices. Adani Ports and Titan also closed marginally higher.

On the flip side, Sun Pharma declined sharply by 2.74 per cent, emerging as the top Sensex laggard. Stocks such as Bharti Airtel, L&T, M&M, UltraTech Cement, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, NTPC, Power Grid, and Tata Steel also ended in the red.

Weakness in pharma and media stocks weighed on sentiment, with the Nifty Media index falling 1.27 per cent, while Nifty Pharma slipped 0.24 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, Nifty Auto (-0.61 per cent), FMCG (-0.10 per cent), and Oil & Gas (-0.33 per cent) closed lower, while Metal (+0.25 per cent), Realty (+0.34 per cent), and Financial Services indices ended modestly higher. Banking indices were largely flat, with Nifty Bank down 0.02 per cent.

The broader market showed mixed trends, with midcap and smallcap indices ending slightly higher, indicating selective buying beyond large caps.

On the NSE, market breadth remained weak, with 1,827 stocks declining against 1,273 advances, while 49 stocks hit 52-week highs and 228 touched 52-week lows. Overall market capitalisation stood at Rs 463.51 lakh crore.