New Delhi, 08 January (H.S.): Domestic stock markets closed sharply lower for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday amid relentless selling pressure. Initial buying attempts evaporated quickly as bears dominated, dragging both Sensex and Nifty nearly 1% down. The Sensex settled 0.92% weaker, while Nifty shed 1.01%.Selling ravaged metal, oil & gas, capital goods, and IT sectors throughout the day.

Banking, auto, consumer durables, FMCG, healthcare, and tech indices also ended red, with only realty shares attracting buyers. Broader markets fared worse: BSE midcap index tumbled 1.99%, smallcap plunged 1.97%.

Market capitalization of BSE-listed firms shrank to ₹472.11 lakh crore (provisional) from Wednesday's ₹479.94 lakh crore, erasing ₹7.83 lakh crore in investor wealth. Of 4,367 BSE stocks actively traded, 1,038 gained, 3,159 declined, and 170 stayed flat. NSE saw 2,885 stocks traded: 491 advanced, 2,394 fell. Sensex's 30 constituents closed with 4 gainers against 26 losers; Nifty's 50 stocks had 4 green versus 46 red.

Index Rollercoaster

BSE Sensex opened 183.12 points down at 84,778.02, briefly surging 187.25 points to 84,965.27 within five minutes on buying support. Bears swiftly regained control; pre-close, it hit a low of 84,110.10 (down 851.04 points) before mild intra-day settlement recovery lifted it 70+ points to close at 84,180.96, down 780.18 points.

NSE Nifty mirrored the volatility, opening 34.25 points lower at 26,106.50 and peaking at 26,133.20 before crashing to 25,858.45 (down 282.30 points) near close. Final settlement buying yielded ~20-point rebound, settling 263.90 points lower at 25,876.85.

Top Movers

Eternal (+0.93%), SBI Life Insurance (+0.58%), ICICI Bank (+0.51%), Bajaj Finance (+0.33%), and Bharat Electronics (+0.01%) led Sensex gainers. Hindalco Industries (-3.68%), Jio Financial (-3.28%), ONGC (-3.20%), Wipro (-3.18%), and Tech Mahindra (-2.91%) topped losers.

Expert Take

Sustained FII selling, President Donald Trump's 500% tariff threat on Russia-aligned nations via the Bipartisan Sanctions Bill, weak global cues, rising crude prices, and weekly Sensex expiry fueled the rout, per experts. Dhami Securities VP Prashant Dhami noted export-focused stocks bore the brunt, as the bill—if passed—could severely impact India and China.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar