Indian benchmark indices closed lower on Thursday, dragged by IT stocks following disappointing Q3 results from Tech Mahindra and as financial stocks continued to retreat.
The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 360 points or 0.51% to settle at 70,700. The broader NSE Nifty fell 101 points or 0.47% to end at 21,352. They have fallen about 1.3% each over the three sessions this holiday-truncated week, logging their worst performance since the week ending October 27.
High-weightage financials led the losses for a second straight week, adding 1.6% to their 4.1% drop last week that was sparked by HDFC Bank reporting disappointing margins.
In the six sessions since then, foreign funds have sold Indian shares worth Rs 347.66 billion ($4.18 billion), pulling the Nifty 50 down about 3%.
Tech Mahindra plunged 6% and was the top BSE Sensex loser after it posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly profit due to weak client spending.
Nifty Financial Services, the heaviest weighted among the major sectors, fell 0.5%. It has tumbled 6% since HDFC Bank reported disappointing margins last week.
Meanwhile, Nifty FMCG, IT, Pharma, and Healthcare closed over 1% lower each. Whereas, Nifty auto, media, and metal closed higher.
Among individual stocks, Bajaj Auto closed 5.3% higher after the automaker beat profit expectations, helped by strong domestic demand.
RailTel Corporation also closed over 10% higher after the firm reported 94% YoY growth in profit after tax to Rs 62 crore in Q3 of FY24 as against Rs 32 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
(With input from agencies)
