Mumbai, Dec 17 Indian equity benchmark indices ended lower for the third straight session on Wednesday as selling pressure in media, realty and consumer durables stocks weighed on market sentiment.
At the close of trade, the Sensex settled at 84,559.65, down 120.21 points or 0.14 per cent.
The Nifty also ended in the red at 25,818.55, slipping 41.55 points or 0.16 per cent.
“As long as Nifty remains below the 25,900–26,000 resistance zone, upside attempts are likely to attract selling pressure,” experts stated.
“The 25,700–25,750 zone is the key near-term support, and a daily close below 25,700 will confirm continuation of the correction, opening downside potential toward 25,550–25,400,” they added.
Despite the overall weakness, some heavyweight stocks managed to post gains. Shares of SBI, Infosys, Axis Bank, Sun Pharma, Maruti Suzuki, TCS and Tata Steel ended higher, rising by up to 1.5 per cent.
On the other hand, stocks such as Trent, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Bajaj Finserv dragged the benchmarks lower.
The broader market also remained under pressure. The BSE MidCap index fell 0.54 per cent, while the SmallCap index declined 0.73 per cent.
On the sectoral front, media stocks saw the sharpest losses, with the Nifty Media index falling 1.7 per cent.
This was followed by declines in consumer durables, realty and chemical stocks. In contrast, PSU bank and IT stocks ended the session in positive territory, offering some support to the market.
In the commodities market, silver prices continued their strong run. Silver March futures on the Multi Commodity Exchange hit fresh record highs, trading near the Rs 2,05,665 level.
Meanwhile, the Indian rupee recovered against the US dollar after intervention by the Reserve Bank of India.
The local currency strengthened to around 89.81 per dollar during Wednesday’s session.
Analysts said that the cautious investor sentiment and sector-specific selling kept the markets under pressure, even as gains in select stocks and supportive cues from currency and commodity markets offered limited relief.
Meanwhile, the rupee rebounded sharply from near 91 to around 90.35, likely aided by intervention, snapping a multi-day losing streak.
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