New Delhi: The Indian equity indices fell for the third straight day on Thursday, driven down by losses in the pharma sectors. Investors have been warier as fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine have resurfaced. The benchmark BSE Sensex fell 59 points, or 0.10 per cent, to 57,833 points, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 28 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 17,276 points. Throughout the session, both indices bounced between gains and losses before settling in the red.
Mid- and small-cap stocks ended the day in the red, with the Nifty Midcap 100 index down 0.91 per cent and small-cap stocks down 1.06 per cent.
The National Stock Exchange's 15 sector gauges ended the day in the red, with 11 of them. Nifty Pharma, Nifty Auto, and Nifty IT are all down 0.87 per cent, 0.63 per cent, and 0.44 per cent, respectively, underperforming the index.
On a stock-by-stock basis, ONGC was the highest Nifty loser, with the stock falling 2.18 per cent to 168. Among the laggards were Divi's Lab, Cipla, UltraTech Cement, and Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M).
Coal India, SBI Life, Bajaj Auto, HDFC, and Larsen and Toubro (L&T), on the other hand, were among the gainers.
On the BSE, the overall market breadth was modest, with 1,170 shares rising and 2,182 falling.
UltraTech Cement, M&M, Infosys, Reliance Industries, and Nestle India had the greatest losses on the 30-share BSE platform, with their shares falling as much as 2.03 per cent.
Since the start of this week, both domestic bourses have been trading in a see-saw pattern, drawing cues from global markets.
In the meantime, foreign investors have sold a net $6.41 billion in Indian shares this year, compared to a net $5.82 billion in the same period last year.