New Delhi, 23 June (H.S.):

The domestic equity markets ended sharply lower on Tuesday, weighed down by weak global cues and intense selling pressure across Asian markets. Persistent selling ahead of the Nifty's weekly expiry further dampened investor sentiment. Although both benchmark indices recovered briefly into positive territory after opening lower, heavy selling pressure emerged shortly before noon, dragging the markets back into negative territory. By the close, both the Sensex and the Nifty had declined 1.16 per cent.

Throughout the trading session, metal, information technology (IT), and consumer durables stocks witnessed heavy selling. Banking, automobile, capital goods, FMCG, oil and gas, and public sector enterprise indices also ended in the red. In contrast, pharmaceutical stocks attracted buying interest.

Supported by gains in pharmaceutical stocks, the Nifty Pharma Index closed 0.92 per cent higher, while the BSE Healthcare Index advanced 0.62 per cent. Selling pressure also dominated the broader market, with the Nifty Midcap Index declining 1.05 per cent and the Nifty Smallcap Index ending 0.48 per cent lower.

The sharp decline in the market wiped out more than Rs 4.63 lakh crore of investors' wealth in a single trading session. The combined market capitalisation of companies listed on the BSE fell to Rs 475.09 lakh crore (provisional) at the close of trading, compared with Rs 479.72 lakh crore in the previous session on Monday.

A total of 4,447 stocks were actively traded on the BSE during the day. Of these, 1,496 advanced, 2,794 declined, while 157 closed unchanged. On the NSE, 3,002 stocks were actively traded, with 831 ending higher and 2,171 finishing lower. Among the 30 Sensex constituents, four stocks closed with gains while 26 ended in negative territory. Similarly, of the 50 Nifty constituents, nine advanced and 41 declined.

The BSE Sensex opened 8.02 points lower at 77,086.05. Buying support immediately after the opening helped the index recover to an intraday high of 77,194.83, up 100.76 points. However, selling pressure intensified after 11:30 a.m., pushing the benchmark back into negative territory. Shortly before the close, the Sensex had plunged 1,112.32 points from the day's high to touch an intraday low of 76,082.51, down 1,011.56 points. Late buying during intraday settlement helped the index recover 118.17 points from the day's low before it finally settled at 76,200.68, down 893.39 points.

The NSE Nifty opened 31.60 points lower at 24,071.30. Early buying lifted the index into positive territory, where it touched an intraday high of 24,135.50. The gains, however, proved short-lived as heavy selling resumed shortly before noon, dragging the benchmark back into the red.

Before the close, the Nifty had fallen 350.55 points from its intraday high to touch a low of 23,784.95, down 317.95 points. Buying during the settlement of day trades helped the index recover 39.15 points from the day's low before it ended the session at 23,824.10, down 278.80 points.

Among the frontline gainers, Cipla rose 1.23 per cent, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories gained 0.82 per cent, Power Grid Corporation advanced 0.76 per cent, Axis Bank added 0.36 per cent, and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries climbed 0.27 per cent.

On the losing side, Infosys declined 3.39 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) fell 3.21 per cent, Adani Enterprises dropped 3.16 per cent, Wipro slipped 3.16 per cent, and JSW Steel lost 3.13 per cent, making them the day's top losers.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar