Indian equity markets ended the trading session in negative territory on Thursday as sectoral weakness in Metals, Real Estate and Public Sector Undertakings pushed benchmarks lower.
On the National Stock Exchange, the Nifty 50 fell 0.74% at the close. The benchmark on the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex 30, slipped 0.75% by session end.
Among Nifty constituents, Bajaj Auto Ltd (NSE:BAJA) was the top gainer, rising 5.25% - an increase of 501.50 points - to finish at 10,045.00. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NSE:SUN) added 2.00%, a gain of 35.60 points, to close at 1,814.30. Infosys Ltd (NSE:INFY) also moved higher, up 1.40% or 16.40 points, to settle at 1,183.90 in late trade.
On the downside, Eternal Ltd (NSE:ETEA) led losses on the Nifty list, falling 2.96% or 7.53 points to end at 246.50. Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (NSE:TAMO) declined 2.92%, a drop of 10.30 points, to close at 342.40. Hindalco Industries Ltd. (NSE:HALC) was down 2.83% or 30.20 points, finishing at 1,037.00.
The BSE Sensex 30 showed a similar roster of movers. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (BO:SUN) gained 2.02% to close at 1,814.80, while Infosys Ltd (BO:INFY) rose 1.33% to 1,183.00. Tech Mahindra Ltd (BO:TEML) advanced 1.18% to end at 1,477.50. On the losing side, Eternal Ltd (BO:ETEA) fell 2.93% to 246.60, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles Ltd (BO:TAMO) lost 2.71% to settle at 342.80, and Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (BO:HLL) dropped 2.33% to 2,259.15 at the close.
Breadth on the exchanges tilted negative. On the NSE, falling issues outnumbered advancers by 1,560 to 953, with 35 stocks unchanged. On the BSE, 2,336 shares declined versus 1,582 that advanced, and 151 ended flat.
Volatility as measured by the India VIX moved higher, rising 4.30% to 18.19, signaling a pickup in implied volatility for Nifty 50 options.
Commodity markets saw gains in gold and modest rises in oil. Gold Futures for June delivery increased 1.89% or 86.16 to $4,647.66 a troy ounce. Crude oil for June delivery was up 0.25% or 0.27 to $107.15 a barrel, while the July Brent contract rose 0.27% or 0.30 to trade at $110.74 a barrel.
In currency markets, USD/INR firmed 0.07% to 94.92 and EUR/INR strengthened 0.36% to 111.16. The US Dollar Index Futures fell 0.45% to 98.38.
This session's price action reflected uneven performance across sectors: select large-cap names posted gains while metals, real estate and public sector-oriented stocks weighed on the indices. The uptick in the India VIX indicates traders priced in somewhat higher near-term volatility at the same time commodities and currency pairs showed modest directional moves.