New Delhi, 24 December (H.S.): Indian equity markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday, the third trading day of the week, following a day of significant volatility. The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex declined 116.14 points, or 0.14 percent, to settle at 85,408.70. Similarly, the National Stock Exchange's Nifty fell 37.45 points, or 0.14 percent, closing at 26,139.70.
Persistent selling by foreign investors and profit-taking in select sectors dampened investor sentiment throughout the session. The Sensex briefly surged nearly 200 points to touch 85,738.18, but this rally proved short-lived.
Among Sensex constituents, performance remained mixed, with heavy selling observed in stocks like TMPV, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries, and Asian Paints. In contrast, top gainers included Trent, Maruti Suzuki India, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, and Power Grid.
Asian markets presented a divided picture: South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 closed lower, while Shanghai's SSE Composite and Hong Kong's Hang Seng held steady in positive territory.
European bourses registered marginal gains. The Indian rupee weakened by 15 paise against the US dollar, ending provisionally at 89.78.The previous session had seen the Sensex close down 42.63 points, or 0.050 percent, at 85,524.84, while the Nifty edged up 4.75 points, or 0.018 percent, to 26,177.15.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
