Sensex down 350 pts, Nifty tests 25,650; auto, metal, defence shares fall

Indian benchmarks, BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50, were trading in losses in Thursday’s trading session, weighed by selling pressure in auto, metal and defence-related shares

As of 11 AM, the Nifty was trading 0.52 per cent or 133.60 points down at 25,642.40, and the Sensex was 0.58 per cent or 482.35 points down at 83,335.34.

Among Sensex stocks, Indigo, BEL, Eternal, Asian Paints, and Axis Bank were leading the losses, with declines extending up to 2 per cent. On the other hand, HUL, SBI, Infosys, NTPC, and ICICI Bank were trading higher, gaining up to 1.2 per cent.

In the broader markets, Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices were down 0.25 per cent and 0.66 per cent, respectively.

Sectoral indices traded on a mixed note. Nifty Metal was the top laggard, down 1.80 per cent, while Pharma, Auto, Financials, and Realty were also trading lower by up to 0.9 per cent.

Asian markets continued their decline as the rout in technology stocks deepened amid investor concerns. South Korea’s Kospi was down 2 per cent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 1.7 per cent lower, last checked.