Stock Market Closing: Indian equity markets ended lower on Thursday, with the Sensex and Nifty closing down nearly 0.25 per cent each as a steep decline in global markets, continued foreign institutional investor (FII) outflows and other headwinds weighed heavily on investor sentiment.
The BSE Sensex, after hitting an intraday low of 73,518.75, ended the session at 73,832.55, down 150.63 points or 0.20 per cent. The NSE Nifty50 settled at 23,161.60, down 53.35 points or 0.23 per cent. During the day Nifty50 swung between 23,327.45 and 23,072.05. Sensex and Nifty opened in red today. The BSE Sensex started at 73,615.99, while the Nifty 50 opened at 23,104.40.
Why the fall?
Eleven of 16 major sectors logged losses. The broader small-caps and mid-caps also fell. The United States launched new strikes against multiple targets in Iran, the US military said on Wednesday, as President Donald Trump vowed further attacks if no peace deal is secured.
The escalation pushed Brent crude futures up 1.9 per cent to $95 per barrel. Asian equities too had a fall.
“The combined impact of geopolitics, artificial intelligence and El-Nino risk has resulted in a subdued sentiment in Indian markets, particularly among foreign investors,” Reuters quoted Surendra Goyal and Vijit Jain, analysts at Citi Research.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors have offloaded domestic equities worth an unprecedented $30.4 billion in 2026 so far. The Nifty is down about 12 per cent year-to-date.
Adding to the pressure, data released overnight showed that US consumer inflation increased in May at its fastest pace in three years, raising the risk of a prolonged period of high interest rates. Elevated US rates tend to reduce the appeal of emerging market equities for foreign investors and may also weigh on US growth, pressuring export-facing sectors such as information technology, as per Reuters.
Notably, IT index also fell on the day, taking its 2026 losses to 27 per cent so far, as concerns over AI-led disruption continued to weigh on earnings expectations.
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