India's equity markets ended Thursday with modest losses after sector-level weakness in Fast Moving Consumer Goods, Healthcare and Technology pressured broader sentiment.
At the NSE close, the Nifty 50 was down 0.02%. On the BSE, the Sensex 30 finished the session 0.18% lower.
Top gainers
- Grasim Industries Ltd (NSE:GRAS) led gains on the Nifty, advancing 6.43% or 190.90 points to finish at 3,162.00.
- Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd. (NSE:APLH) rose 3.11% or 251.50 points to close at 8,330.00.
- Bajaj Auto Ltd (NSE:BAJA) gained 1.79% or 187.50 points to end the day at 10,650.00.
Notable decliners
- Bajaj Finance Ltd (NSE:BJFN) was the heaviest loser on the Nifty, falling 1.64% or 15.10 points to 908.00 at the close.
- Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (NSE:HLL) slipped 1.40% or 30.90 points to 2,178.40.
- Tech Mahindra Ltd (NSE:TEML) eased 1.32% or 19.00 points to 1,420.00.
BSE Sensex movers
- Adani Port and Special Economic Zone Ltd (BO:APSE) advanced 0.99% to 1,791.00.
- UltraTech Cement Ltd (BO:ULTC) rose 0.95% to settle at 11,510.00.
- Tata Steel Ltd (BO:TISC) gained 0.70% to close at 208.50.
The weakest performers on the BSE included Bajaj Finance Ltd (BO:BJFN), down 1.64% to 908.70; Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY), which lost 1.56% to settle at 1,178.15; and Tech Mahindra Ltd (BO:TEML), down 1.44% to 1,419.00 at the close.
Market breadth
Rising issues outnumbered decliners on the National Stock Exchange, where 1,453 shares gained and 1,070 fell; 37 ended unchanged. On the Bombay Stock Exchange, 2,234 issues rose, 1,632 declined and 176 finished flat.
Stocks hitting record levels
Grasim Industries Ltd (NSE:GRAS) and Apollo Hospitals Enterprises Ltd. (NSE:APLH) each reached all-time highs during the session. Grasim closed up 6.43% or 190.90 at 3,162.00, while Apollo Hospitals finished up 3.11% or 251.50 at 8,330.00.
Volatility, commodities and currencies
The India VIX, which gauges implied volatility of Nifty 50 options, fell 3.38% to 17.82.
In commodities trading, June Gold Futures declined 0.89% or 40.38 to $4,517.62 a troy ounce. Crude oil contracts for July delivery rose 1.45% or 1.42 to $99.68 a barrel, while the July Brent contract gained 1.10% or 1.16 to trade at $106.18 a barrel.
On the currency front, USD/INR moved lower by 0.18% to 96.31, and EUR/INR fell 0.76% to 111.71. The US Dollar Index Futures was up 0.09% at 99.19.
Overall, markets finished mixed with sector-specific pressure offsetting selective buying in heavyweight names. The session produced a small negative headline move on the major indexes despite a number of individual stocks posting strong gains.