Indian equity benchmarks extended their losing streak to a third consecutive session on Thursday, as persistent selling pressure and weak global cues weighed on investor sentiment. Markets opened lower and extended losses in early trade, with the Nifty 50 falling more than 1% intraday, before late-session buying helped trim losses.
The Nifty 50 declined 124 points, or 0.54%, to close at 22,688, while the BSE Sensex shed 460 points, or 0.62%, to settle at 73,249.
Broader markets underperformed the benchmarks, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices falling around 1% each. Meanwhile, the India VIX, a gauge of expected market volatility, edged up to 15.82, signalling heightened caution among investors.
Sectorally, the Nifty Auto, Nifty FMCG, Nifty Metal and Nifty IT indices declined by up to 1%. Market breadth remained firmly negative on the NSE, with 2,512 stocks declining against 1,026 advances, while 104 stocks ended unchanged.
