Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty ended marginally down on Thursday due to losses in oil and gas, metal and auto stocks as investors remained cautious amid surging Omicron cases.
The 30-share BSE Sensex closed lower by 12.17 points or 0.02 per cent at 57,794.32 amid the monthly expiry of derivatives contracts. As many as 14 of its stocks declined while 16 advanced.
The broader NSE Nifty edged down by 9.65 points or 0.06 per cent to 17,203.95 with 27 of its constituents closing in the red.
Reliance Industries was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling nearly 2 per cent due to profit-booking by investors.
Tata Steel declined by 1.34 per cent, Maruti Suzuki by 0.82 per cent, and Bajaj Finance by 0.63 per cent. Sun Pharma, SBI, Nestle, M&M and UltraTech were among the losers.
On the other hand, NTPC rose by 3.13 per cent to emerge as the biggest gainer among Sensex peers. HCL Tech rose by 1.94 per cent, Titan by 1.85 per cent and IndusInd Bank by 1.74 per cent. Titan, Wipro and Dr Reddy's were also among the gainers.
In the larger market, the BSE Midcap Index declined by 0.22 per cent while the BSE SmallCap Index advanced by 0.19 per cent.
Among sectoral indices, BSE Energy dropped by 1.62 per cent, Oil &Gas by 1.43 per cent, BSE Metal by 1.15 per cent and BSE Realty by 0.99 per cent.
On the other hand, BSE IT advanced nearly 1 per cent followed by BSE Teck, Consumer Durables and Bankex.
Meanwhile, the rupee surged 29 paise to close at 74.42 against the US dollar on Thursday following year-end dollar selling by banks and exporters amid muted domestic
equities.