Bourses fall for 4th consecutive day amid trade deal uncertainty, muted trend in global trends

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday amid a muted trend in global markets and uncertainty over a trade deal with the US.

Falling for the fourth day, the 30-share BSE Sensex shed 77.84 points or 0.09 per cent to settle at 84,481.81 in a volatile session.

The 50-share NSE Nifty ended flat, skidding 3 points or 0.01 per cent to 25,815.55.

Among Sensex firms, Sun Pharma declined the most by 2.74 per cent. Tata Steel fell by 1.26 per cent, Power Grid by 1.15 per cent and Asian Paints by 0.89 per cent. HDFC Bank, L&T, NTPC and Bharti Airtel were also among the laggards.

However, Tata Consultancy Services jumped 1.94 per cent, Tech Mahindra by 1.74 per cent and Infosys by 1.51 per cent. Adani Ports, Axis Bank and HCL Tech were also among the gainers.

In the broader equity market, BSE midcap gauge went up by 0.05 per cent, but smallcap index dipped 0.28 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, power declined by 1.01 per cent, followed by oil & gas (0.81 per cent), capital goods (0.80 per cent), utilities (0.75 per cent) and industrials (0.66 per cent).

However, BSE Focused IT jumped 1.24 per cent and Information Technology climbed 1.10 per cent. Services (0.79 per cent), realty (0.33 per cent) and financial services (0.13 per cent) also advanced.

The rupee appreciated 18 paise against the US dollar to settle at 90.20 on Thursday, despite the broad strength of the American currency in the overseas market on possible intervention by the RBI.