New Delhi, 06 January (H.S.): Indian equity markets closed lower for the second straight day amid persistent selling pressure. The day began on a weak note, and despite a brief recovery after opening, both the Sensex and Nifty ended the session in the red.

After a short-lived rally supported by buying activity, sellers took over by late morning, pushing both benchmarks lower. Buying interest resurfaced briefly in the afternoon, but both indices remained in negative territory throughout the day.

The Sensex closed 0.44% lower, while the Nifty ended down 0.27%.Selling pressure was concentrated in oil & gas, public sector enterprises, capital goods, and energy stocks, while pharmaceutical, IT, and consumer durables sectors saw buying activity.

Banking, auto, FMCG, metal, and tech indices ended with gains. Broader markets remained under selling pressure, with the BSE Midcap Index down 0.24% and the Smallcap Index falling 0.39%.The market’s weakness wiped out over ₹1.35 lakh crore from investors’ wealth.

The combined market capitalization of BSE-listed companies dropped to ₹479.45 lakh crore (provisional) after today’s session, down from ₹480.80 lakh crore on Monday.

Out of 4,349 actively traded shares on the BSE, 1,661 ended higher, 2,520 lower, and 168 unchanged. On the NSE, 1,054 stocks gained, 1,801 declined, and 2,855 were actively traded. Among Sensex constituents, 16 shares advanced and 14 declined. In the Nifty, 31 shares gained and 19 lost ground.

The Sensex opened at 85,331.14, briefly rose to 85,397.78 by 10 AM, then plunged to 84,900.10 by 2 PM, before recovering to close at 85,063.34, down 376.28 points. The Nifty started at 26,189.70, climbed to 26,273.95, fell to 26,124.75, and closed at 26,178.70, down 71.60 points.

Top gainers included Apollo Hospitals (3.74%), ICICI Bank (2.89%), HDFC Life (2.44%), Tata Consumer Products (2.39%), and Sun Pharmaceuticals (1.81%). Top losers were Trent Ltd (8.63%), Reliance Industries (4.47%), ITC (2.07%), Kotak Mahindra Bank (2.03%), and InterGlobe Aviation (1.96%).

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar