Indian equity benchmarks fell for a fourth consecutive session on Thursday, capping a punishing holiday-shortened week. Given the market closed for the week, it also meant the bourses saw the longest streak in 25 years with eight straight weeks of losses.
The Sensex shed 570.59 points, or 0.79 per cent, closing at 71,909.70.
Selling pressure was severe during midday trading, dragging the 30-share index to an intraday low of 71,292.88 before a modest late-session recovery.
The NSE Nifty 50 mirrored this trajectory, tumbling 198.50 points, or 0.88 per cent, to settle at 22,421.95.
Over the four trading days since last Friday's close, the Sensex has surrendered nearly 1,986 points, signalling acute weakness in domestic equities.
The relentless exodus of foreign capital did not help matters. Foreign Institutional Investors liquidated Indian equities worth ₹10,148.41 crore on Wednesday alone, pushing year-to-date outflows deeper into record territory.
Macroeconomic headwinds compounded the institutional selling. Global crude oil erased its brief mid-week dip, with Brent crude surging 2.77 per cent to $100.80 per barrel by Thursday afternoon. At the same time, the US 10-year Treasury yield climbed towards a multi-year high of 5.34 per cent. This combo continued to drain liquidity from emerging markets, echoing the overnight weakness seen on Wall Street and lower trading in European markets.
Heavyweight cyclical, auto, and consumer stocks led the decline, with Maruti Suzuki, Mahindra & Mahindra, Tata Steel, and Adani Ports posting steep losses. ITC and Power Grid also weighed heavily on the broader indices.
The technology sector, however, provided a rare bright spot. IT majors Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, and HCL Tech posted solid gains, benefiting from the defensive appeal of their dollar-denominated revenue streams. HDFC Bank also ended in the green, offering limited structural support.
Given the week closed today, investors seem to have opted to pare down exposure rather than carry weekend risk. The slip in Indian indices contrasted with the performance of surging Asian indices like the KOSPI and Nikkei.
