Mumbai

Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday as weak global trends and uncertainty over a potential India-US trade deal kept investors cautious.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slipped 77.84 points, or 0.09 per cent, to settle at 84,481.81 in a volatile session. The index swung 541.76 points during the day, touching a high of 84,780.19 and a low of 84,238.43.

The NSE Nifty ended almost flat, down 3 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 25,815.55. After a subdued opening, the index attempted a recovery in early trade but failed to sustain gains in the latter half.

Selling pressure in energy, auto and pharma stocks weighed on the indices, while gains in IT shares helped limit losses. Select buying in financials and metal stocks supported a mild recovery toward the close.

Among Sensex stocks, Sun Pharma declined the most, falling 2.74 per cent. Tata Steel dropped 1.26 per cent, Power Grid 1.15 per cent and Asian Paints 0.89 per cent. HDFC Bank, L&T, NTPC and Bharti Airtel also closed lower.

On the positive side, Tata Consultancy Services surged 1.94 per cent, Tech Mahindra gained 1.74 per cent and Infosys advanced 1.51 per cent. Adani Ports, Axis Bank and HCL Tech were also among the gainers.

“Sentiment remained cautious due to global cues and currency-related concerns,” said Ajit Mishra, SVP (Research), Religare Broking Ltd.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments, said early gains were supported by value buying and a recovery in the rupee aided by central bank intervention, but uncertainty over the US-India trade deal led to profit-booking later in the session.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap index rose 0.05 per cent, while the smallcap index declined 0.28 per cent.

Sectorally, power stocks fell 1.01 per cent, followed by oil and gas (0.81 per cent), capital goods (0.80 per cent), utilities (0.75 per cent) and industrials (0.66 per cent). IT stocks outperformed, with the BSE IT index rising 1.10 per cent.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought equities worth Rs 1,171.71 crore on Wednesday, while Domestic Institutional Investors invested Rs 768.94 crore, exchange data showed.

READ MORE: Cricket taught me to value human talent over caste and religion

Brent crude rose 0.42 per cent to USD 59.93 per barrel.