Sensex ends 191 points lower, Nifty holds 17K; banking, auto shares lead losses

Benchmark indices snapped three-day gaining streak today as Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh imposed night curfew amid rising cases of Omicron in the country. After a choppy session, Sensex ended 190.97 points lower at 57,124 and Nifty declined 68.85 points to 17,003.75.

NTPC was the top Sensex loser, shedding 2.69 per cent, followed by M&M, Axis Bank, PowerGrid, Kotak Bank, Dr Reddy's, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC.

HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Asian Paints, Wipro and Infosys were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.08%. Of the 30 Sensex shares, 22 ended lower. BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices fell 284 points and 171 points, respectively.

On the sectoral front, banking, capital goods, auto & oil and gas stocks led the losses today. BSE bankex fell 394 points , capital goods index lost 290 points, BSE auto declined 233 points and .oil and gas index slipped 185 points.

However, BSE IT index rose 272 points to 36,957. The market breadth was negative with 1,573 shares ending higher against 1,751 stocks in the red. 102 shares were unchanged.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms fell to Rs 259.78 lakh crore. In early trade, benchmark indices opened on a positive note. At 09:18 am, the 30-share BSE index was trading 69 points higher at 57,385, and the broader NSE Nifty was up 13 points to 17,085.

Indian market closed higher for the third consecutive session on Thursday, amid positive global cues . Sensex ended 384 points higher at 57,512 and Nifty advanced 117 points to 17,072.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth Rs 271.59 crore on December 23, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,196 crore, as per provisional data available on NSE.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong and Seoul ended with gains, while Shanghai and Tokyo were in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals. Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.10 per cent to $76.52 per barrel.