Bears staged a decisive comeback on Dalal Street on Thursday, forcing the major benchmark indices to shed earlier gains. Profit booking dominated trading as both the Sensex and Nifty pared back substantial gains, leading to a sharp decline in market sentiment.
At 2:33 pm, the Sensex had slipped 104 points, settling at 78,007. Meanwhile, the broader Nifty index fell below the critical 24,200 mark. The 30-share benchmark was notably trading more than 700 points below its peak for the day.
Index Performance and Daily Volatility
Morning trade had seen sharp optimism, but that momentum quickly reversed. Earlier in the session, the BSE Sensex had registered a significant jump of 619 points, reaching 78,730. The NSE Nifty also climbed, rising 170 points to 24,401. However, these gains proved unsustainable as investors booked profits, triggering the sharp sell-off observed by the close.The overall market activity highlighted mixed sentiment. On the NSE, a total of 1,246 stocks declined, while 1,940 advanced, and 94 remained unchanged.
Sectoral Shifts Guide Market Downturn
Sector performance revealed sharp polarization across the market. Nifty Metal stood out as a key performer, rising over 1% and successfully holding most of its morning gains.Conversely, the Auto and Oil & Gas sectors faced considerable pressure. Nifty Auto and Nifty Oil & Gas both saw declines exceeding 0.6% respectively, emerging as the top laggards for the day.
In terms of weighted stocks, the indices were dragged down by several large names. ONGC, Apollo Hospitals, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, Titan, and M&M were among the top Nifty laggards, collectively falling by 1-2% each. At the opposite end, gainers included Trent, Hindalco, Adani Ports, and Eternal.
Key Drivers Behind the Sharp Decline
Several factors contributed to the heavy sell-off witnessed on Dalal Street. Thursday also marked the weekly expiry of Sensex F&O contracts, a day known for introducing heightened market volatility.Analysts suggest that intense profit booking played a major role in the dramatic dip. This decline followed a robust rebound period, particularly after the indices had managed to regain strength throughout April following a sustained selloff throughout March.
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