MUMBAI – The Sensex fell 417 points on Thursday, closing at 76,152.86. The Nifty dropped 41 points to 23,873.45 after briefly crossing 24,000 in early trade.
Selling stayed concentrated in large stocks. IT and auto counters remained weak; pharma and FMCG also faced pressure.
Tech Mahindra, Cipla, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Auto and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the bigger losers. Banks offered some support, with HDFC Bank and Axis Bank higher. Realty rose 2.5%.
The broader market held up better. The Nifty Midcap 100 gained 0.37% and the Smallcap 100 rose 1.2%. More than 180 stocks hit 52-week highs, pointing to selective rather than market-wide selling.
Foreign investors sold a net ₹2,346 crore. Domestic institutions bought ₹4,977 crore. The rupee strengthened 48 paise to ₹94.49 against the dollar.
Brent crude stayed near $96 a barrel on continued Middle East supply concerns.
Large-cap indices remained under pressure while money rotated into selected banks, realty and smaller companies.
