The domestic share markets opened strong today but soon caution gripped investor sentiment and at the end of the trading session, the benchmark equity indices ended with moderate losses. At the Bombay Stock Exchange, Sensex fell 0.1 percent and lost 72 points to close at 74,030. At the National Stock Exchange, Nifty-50 fell 27 points, or 0.12 percent, to settle at 22,471. The broader market indices at the BSE were also in the negative territory. The BSE Mid-Cap index fell 0.57 percent, the BSE Small-Cap index also fell down 0.48 percent. In the Sensex index, 18 out of 30 companies ended in negative territory. Among the top laggards, Infosys plunged nearly 4.3 percent, Tech Mahindra slipped 2.8 percent, and Nestle dropped more than 2.4 percent. Conversely, among the top gainers, IndusInd Bank rose nearly 4.4 percent, Tata Motors gained almost 3.2 percent, and Kotak Mahindra increased nearly 2.5 percent.
In Sectoral Indices at the BSE, 11 out of 21 sectors ended down. Among the top laggards, Focused Information Technogy sector lost more than three percent, Information Technogy sector slipped 2.95 percent, and Tech fell 2.59 percent. However in the top gainers, Auto gained 0.53 percent, Bankex advanced 0.47 percent and Energy and Financial Services sectors each rose 0.43 percent.
Overall market breadth at the BSE was negative as shares of 2,491 companies declined, 1,494 advanced, and 137 remained unchanged.
At the National Stock Exchange, 20 companies hit their 52-week high, while 234 hit their 52-week low.