New Delhi, 17 December (H.S.): The domestic stock markets ended lower for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, as profit booking erased early gains. Trading began on a strong note, with both Sensex and Nifty opening higher amid initial buying support. However, the momentum faded within the first 20 minutes of trade as investors moved to book profits, dragging both indices into negative territory.At close, the BSE Sensex fell 0.14 percent, while the NSE Nifty slipped 0.16 percent, marking a subdued end to the trading session.

Throughout the day, metal, oil & gas, and IT stocks witnessed notable buying interest, helping the IT and tech indices close in the green. In contrast, realty, defence, and FMCG sectors faced continuous selling pressure. The public sector enterprises, banking, automobile, capital goods, consumer durables, and healthcare indices also ended in the red.Persistent selling in the broader market led to declines in mid- and small-cap segments.

The BSE Midcap Index dropped 0.53 percent, while the Smallcap Index sank 0.85 percent by market close.The market meltdown wiped out over ₹1.60 lakh crore from investors’ wealth. The combined market capitalization of BSE-listed companies fell to ₹466.03 lakh crore (provisional), compared to ₹467.63 lakh crore in the previous session, resulting in an estimated single-day loss of about ₹1.60 lakh crore.

Trading was active across 4,328 stocks on the BSE, with 1,475 advancing, 2,694 declining, and 159 closing flat. On the NSE, 2,853 shares were traded, out of which 873 gained, while 1,980 ended lower. Within the Sensex pack, 17 stocks advanced, and 13 declined; among Nifty constituents, 25 closed in the green and 25 in the red.

The Sensex opened with a gain of 176.40 points at 84,856.26, rising further to a day’s high of 84,889.45. However, after early trade, profit-taking dragged the index lower. By 1 p.m., it had slumped over 470 points from the day’s peak, touching 84,415.98.

A late recovery helped the benchmark regain some ground, eventually ending 120.21 points down at 84,559.65.Similarly, the Nifty opened 42.30 points higher at 25,902.40, advancing to 25,929.15 before succumbing to selling pressure.

Around 2:30 p.m., the index had dropped 158.80 points from the day’s top, hitting 25,770.35. Supported by late trade buying, the Nifty pared losses to close 41.55 points lower at 25,818.55.

Among the top gainers were Shriram Finance (up 1.86%), SBI (1.53%), Hindalco Industries (1.39%), Eicher Motors (1.03%), and Tata Consumer Products (0.85%). The major losers included Max Healthcare (down 3.90%), Apollo Hospitals (1.84%), Trent Ltd (1.55%), HDFC Life (1.42%), and SBI Life Insurance (1.27%).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar