Mumbai, March 12: The Indian stock market continued its downward trend on Thursday, the fourth trading day of the week, amid rising tensions in West Asia and volatility in oil prices. Major benchmarks, the Sensex and Nifty, closed in the red.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 1.08 percent, or 829.29 points, to close at 76,034.42. Meanwhile, the NSE Nifty50 dropped by 0.95 percent, or 227.70 points, ending at 23,639.15.
During the day’s trading, the Sensex recorded a decline of 992.53 points, or 1.3 percent, reaching a low of 75,871.18, while the Nifty50 fell by 298.15 points, or 1.25 percent, to 23,556.30. Later, the Sensex managed to recover some losses, reaching a high of 76,681.71.
The broader market also mirrored the decline seen in benchmark indices, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index down by 0.37 percent and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index down by 0.67 percent.
Sector-wise, the Nifty Auto index was the most affected, plunging by 3.19 percent. Other sectors like Nifty FMCG, Nifty Realty, Nifty Bank, and Nifty IT also saw declines of 1.77 percent, 1.63 percent, 1.14 percent, and 0.24 percent, respectively. In contrast, the Nifty Oil and Gas sector emerged as the top performer.
Among the Nifty50 stocks, Mahindra & Mahindra, Eicher Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Bajaj Finance, TMPV, L&T, and UltraTech Cement experienced the most significant declines, ranking among the top losers.
Conversely, stocks like Coal India, NTPC, PowerGrid, Tech Mahindra, Jio Finance, Adani Enterprises, and Jio Financial Services recorded the highest gains, making them the top gainers.
This market decline has resulted in substantial losses for investors. The total market capitalization of BSE-listed companies fell from approximately ₹442 lakh crore to about ₹440 lakh crore, indicating a loss of nearly ₹2 lakh crore in a single day.