Stock Market Ends Lower As IT Stocks Lead Selling Pressure

The Indian equity markets closed lower on Thursday, extending their bearish momentum for the fifth straight session. Persistent selling in IT stocks, coupled with foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and profit booking, dragged the indices down.

The Sensex closed at 81,159.68, slipping 555.95 points or 0.68 per cent, after hitting an intraday low of 81,092.89. The 30-share index opened weak at 81,574.31 against the previous close of 81,715.63. The Nifty settled at 24,890.85, down 166.05 points or 0.66 per cent.

Analysts Cite FIIs, Trade Uncertainty, and GDP Concerns

Market analysts noted that investors booked profits amid persistent FII outflows and rising uncertainty over US-India trade talks, which could weigh on Q2 GDP growth.

Broad-based selling gripped the market, with auto, IT, pharma, and healthcare stocks witnessing heavy losses. However, metal stocks gained on the back of China’s liquidity support and concerns over copper supply.

Most sectoral indices closed in the red:

• Nifty Auto fell 249 points or 0.92 per cent.
• Nifty FMCG slipped 270 points or 0.49 per cent.
• Nifty IT tumbled 445 points or 1.27 per cent.
• Nifty Fin Services shed 141 points or 0.53 per cent.
• Nifty Bank lost 145 points or 0.26 per cent.

Among Sensex constituents, Trent, PowerGrid, Tata Motors, TCS, Asian Paints, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Tech, Titan, Kotak Bank, Tech Mahindra, L&T, SBI, Ultratech Cement, and Eternal closed in negative territory.

On the other hand, BEL, Axis Bank, and Bharti Airtel managed to end the session in green.

Broader Markets Mirror Weakness

The weakness extended to the broader markets as well:

• Nifty Next 50 dropped 514 points or 0.75 per cent.
• Nifty 100 fell 174 points or 0.68 per cent.
• Nifty Midcap 100 declined 368 points or 0.64 per cent.
• Nifty Small Cap 100 slipped 102 points or 0.57 per cent.

Overall sentiment remains cautious ahead of India’s H2 FY26 borrowing programme and key US macroeconomic data, expected later this week.

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