New Delhi, 29 December (H.S.): Indian stock markets closed lower on the week's first trading day despite a mixed opening, with benchmark indices succumbing to weak global cues and foreign investor selling pressure. The downturn erased approximately ₹1.88 lakh crore from investor wealth as BSE's market capitalization of listed companies fell to ₹472.09 lakh crore (provisional) from ₹473.97 lakh crore on Friday.

Indices Snap Early Gains Amid Selling Pressure

The BSE Sensex opened marginally lower at 85,004.75 (down 36.70 points) but surged 208.55 points to 85,250 within the first half-hour on buying support. Selling soon dominated, with the index plummeting over 610 points from its intraday high to touch 84,637.86 by 2 PM before closing 345.91 points (0.41%) lower at 84,695.54.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty started positively at 26,063.35 (up 21.05 points) and climbed 64.50 points to 26,106.80 early on. It later slid over 185 points from its peak to 25,920.30 before recovering slightly in the final hour, ending 100.20 points (0.38%) down at 25,942.10.

Sectoral Sell-Off and Trading Volumes

IT, Realty, Automobile, PSE, and Energy sectors witnessed sustained selling throughout the session, dragging down Banking, Capital Goods, Consumer Durables, Healthcare, Metal, and Tech indices. Oil & Gas and FMCG stocks saw mild buying interest.

Broader markets also declined, with BSE Midcap down 0.45% and Smallcap falling 0.58%. Trading volumes showed BSE with 4,512 active stocks (1,568 advancers, 2,748 decliners, 196 unchanged) and NSE with 2,911 stocks (844 gainers, 2,067 losers). Among Sensex 30 stocks, 8 advanced while 22 declined; Nifty 50 saw 14 gainers against 36 losers.

Top Gainers and Losers

Top 5 Gainers: Tata Steel (+1.88%), Tata Consumer Products (+1.66%), Asian Paints (+1.05%), Grasim Industries (+0.88%), Nestle (+0.58%).

Top 5 Losers: Adani Ports (-2.20%), Power Grid Corp (-1.83%), HCL Tech (-1.81%), Trent Ltd (-1.38%), Bharat Electronics (-1.31%).

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar