Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices declined in early trade on Thursday, as profit-taking emerged in domestic equities after a record rally amid weak global market trends. The 30-share BSE Sensex opened on a muted note and declined 251.93 points to 80,464.62 in initial trade. The NSE Nifty dipped 76.6 points to 24,536.40.
Among the Sensex pack, Asian Paints went lower by 2 per cent after the company reported a 24.64 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,186.79 crore in the June quarter, hit by demand slowdown due to severe heatwave and general elections. UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Tata Steel, JSW Steel and NTPC were among the other laggards.
On the contrary, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Airtel defied the broader market trend and were trading in the positive territory. In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai were trading lower, while Hong Kong quoted higher. The US markets ended mostly lower on Wednesday. The worldwide oil standard Brent crude increased by 0.35 percent to reach USD 85.38 per barrel. According to data from the exchange, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) purchased equities valued at Rs 1,271.45 crore on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, the stock markets were shut due to Muharram. On Tuesday, The BSE benchmark reached a record high of 80,716.55, increasing by 51.69 points or 0.06 per cent. Throughout the day, it surged 233.44 points or 0.28 percent to reach a new all-time high of 80,898.30.
The NSE Nifty climbed 26.30 points or 0.11 pc to reach a record closing high of 24,613. During the same day, it increased by 74.55 points or 0.30, reaching a new all-time high of 24,661.25.
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