Indian equities traded lower on Thursday, extending their losing streak into a fourth consecutive session, as concerns over US tariffs, sustained foreign fund outflows and weak global cues continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex was down 218 points, or 0.26 per cent, at 84,743, while the NSE Nifty 50 slipped 84 points, or 0.32 per cent, to 26,057 levels. Selling pressure remained broad-based, particularly among heavyweight stocks.
On Wednesday, benchmarks had closed lower for a third straight session, with the Sensex ending at 84,961.14 and the Nifty at 26,140.75, as geopolitical tensions and persistent institutional selling dampened sentiment.
The top losers were TCS, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Maruti Suzuki, Infosys, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, Sun Pharma, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Power Grid, declining up to 2 per cent. While, only nine Sensex stocks were trading higher, led by ICICI Bank, BEL, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank, HUL, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Axis Bank and Eternal.
Broader markets also remained under pressure, with the Nifty MidCap index down 0.66 per cent and the Nifty SmallCap index slipping 0.38 per cent.
Sectorally, losses were led by metals, with the Nifty Metal index falling 1.75 per cent, followed by IT down 0.85 per cent and pharma lower by 0.6 per cent. Investors remain cautious ahead of earnings announcements and global macro cues.