Mumbai, June 21: Indian markets experienced high volatility after investors booked profits on the last trading session of the week. Both Nifty and Sensex closed with marginal declines, though the Nifty 50 index touched a new high during the opening session.

The Nifty 50 index closed at 23,501.10 points, down 65 points, while the BSE Sensex closed at 77,209, down 269 points.

"The domestic market witnessed minor profit booking amid concerns over the slow progress of the monsoon, resulting in underperformance in the FMCG sector. The heatwave in Northern India is driving consumer durables stocks up. The global markets were subdued as weak guidance from Accenture led to profit booking in US tech stocks. Conversely, domestic IT stocks saw buying interest as market participants appeared to have factored in weaker earnings. Attention is now focused on the upcoming GST meeting, where the potential rationalization of GST rates in certain sectors is under discussion" said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

The decline was driven by significant selling pressure in heavyweight stocks such as HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, L&T, HUL, Axis Bank, and Bajaj Finance. Conversely, top gainers in the Nifty 50 included Bharti Airtel, LTIMindtree, Adani Ports, Hindalco, and Infosys, while major losers included Ultratech Cements, Adani Ports, BPCL, Tata Motors, and Tata Consumer Products.

In the Nifty 50 index, 32 stocks declined while 18 gained. In the broader market, all indices closed with declines except Nifty Midcap 50 and Nifty Midcap Select.

"The rupee faced a slight negative bias against the US Dollar amidst strong US treasury yields and disappointing manufacturing and services PMI data from Germany and the Eurozone," said Varun Aggarwal, MD, Profit Idea.

In the oil market, WTI crude oil futures rose for the fourth consecutive day, supported by heightened geopolitical tensions in Gaza and Lebanon. US crude inventories showed a surprise decline last week, further bolstering oil prices amid expectations of increased travel demand over the US Fourth of July holiday period.

(ANI)

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