Sensex slips 27 pts dragged down by selling in HDFC Bank and other blue-chip stocks

Mumbai: Benchmark BSE Sensex slipped by 27.46 points to close at 82,248.61 in a volatile session on Thursday, dragged down by selling in HDFC Bank and other blue-chip stocks.

Investors remained cautious amid the proposed US-Iran nuclear talks, AI-related developments and tariff concerns.

The 30-share index opened higher and gained a further 303 points to hit a high of 82,579.16 in late morning deals. However, profit-taking in financial services, FMCG and realty shares dragged the index down 608 points from the day’s high, hitting a low of 81,970.47 in afternoon deals.

The Sensex closed marginally down by 27.46 points or 0.03 per cent at 82,248.61.

The 50-share NSE Nifty eked out a marginal gain of 14.05 points or 0.06 per cent to end at 25,496.55.

From the Sensex pack, Trent, Eternal, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, NTPC and Axis Bank were among the biggest laggards. Bharat Electronics, Sun Pharma, Adani Ports, Maruti and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.

Among sectoral indices, BSE hospitals jumped 1.35 per cent, followed by PSU bank (0.98 per cent), healthcare (0.96 per cent), capital goods (0.88 per cent), telecom (0.75 per cent) and industrials (0.60 per cent).FMCG, financial services, utilities, consumer durables and power were the laggards.

The rupee settled on a flat note at 90.91 against the US dollar on Thursday, amid volatile global crude oil prices and a firm greenback against major rivals.