The BSE Sensex and Nifty closed Thursday’s trading session sharply lower. The Nifty slumped 1.55% to 21,957.50 points, while the Sensex fell 1.45% to 72,404.17 at the close.

Several sectoral indices faced sharp declines, with Nifty Oil & Gas being the top loser, falling by 2.7%. Other sectors such as FMCG, Realty, Pharma, and Metal also witnessed declines ranging from 2% to 2.3%. However, Nifty Auto managed to rise by 1%.

Hero Moto continued its upward trend following a profitable performance on Wednesday, driving auto stocks up by 0.8%. Meanwhile, the shares of Asian Paints dropped by about 5% after the company missed fourth-quarter profit expectations.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said, “The broader market witnessed volatility, underscoring caution on account of Q4 earnings and general election uncertainties, which led investors to stay on the sidelines.”

“We expect the trend to continue in the short term as the market slid below the physiological level of 22,000. The global indices are trading with mixed cues ahead of the BOE policy meeting later today and US inflation figures due next week,” Nair added.

The broader small-cap and mid-cap segments fell by 2.8% and 1.9%, respectively, underperforming the benchmarks.

-Ranu Jain