Market at Close | Sensex slips 123 points, Nifty ends below 24,200 as financials drag

The equity benchmark indices BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty erased early gains and ended largely in the red on Thursday (April 16), with benchmark indices weighed down by heavyweights across banking, telecom and energy.

The Sensex declined 123 points to 77,989, while the Nifty slipped 35 points to close at 24,197, falling below the 24,200 mark.

From the Sensex basket, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Adani Enterprises Ltd, Hindalco Industries Ltd, Trent Ltd, Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd were the major gainers.

Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd, Titan Company Ltd, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd and Coal India Ltd were the biggest laggards.

Financial stocks led the decline, with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and Reliance Industries among the key drags on the Nifty. The Nifty Bank index fell 216 points to 56,086, adding pressure to the broader market.

Despite the weakness in frontline indices, broader markets remained resilient. The midcap index outperformed, rising 369 points to 59,147, with market breadth favouring advances. The NSE advance-decline ratio stood at 2:1.

Among stocks, ICICI Lombard gained 2% after posting Q3 results in line with estimates. HDB Financial Services surged 7% following strong Q4 results, while Hindalco extended its previous session’s rally, rising 3% on a positive brokerage note.

On the downside, Tejas Networks fell 4% after reporting a loss for the fifth consecutive quarter. HDFC Life declined over 1% ahead of its Q4 results. Supreme Industries and Astral dropped up to 4%, tracking crude price movement, while GMR Airports fell over 2% on muted Q4 traffic growth.

Among Nifty constituents, HDFC Bank, ONGC, HDFC Life, Titan and Apollo Hospitals were the top losers. Auto stocks saw mixed movement, with Hero MotoCorp declining over 2%.