Mumbai, Jan 9: India's domestic benchmark indices closed lower on Thursday ahead of Q3 FY25 results as selling was seen in IT, PSU bank, financial service, pharma and auto sectors.

Sensex ended at 77,620.21 down by 528.28 points, or 0.68 per cent, and Nifty settled at 23,526.50, down by 162.45 points or 0.69 per cent.

Nifty Bank ended at 49,503.5 down by 331.55 points, or 0.67 per cent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 55,745.90 after dropping 524.70 points, or 0.93 per cent, while the Nifty Smallcap 100 index closed at 18,118.35 after declining 247.30 points, or 1.35 per cent.

According to market experts, the Indian stock market mirrored the decline across its Asian peers, with cautious investor sentiment driven by a sell-off in US bonds.

"Domestically, the FMCG sector outperformed, while other sectors declined, anticipating only modest improvement in Q3 earnings estimates, cautioning against high expectations," they noted.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 1,210 shares ended in green and 2,750 shares in red, whereas there was no change in 107 shares.

On the sectoral front, FMCG and Consumption segments were major gainers.

In the Sensex pack, Zomato, Tata Steel, NTPC, L&T, Tata Motors, HDFC Bank, TCS, SBI, Tech Mahindra, Axis Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finance, Infosys, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Finserv and Power Grid were the top losers.

Whereas, Nestle India, Hindustan Unilever Limited, M&M, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel and ITC were the top gainers.

Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 3,362.18 crore on January 8 and domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,716.28 crore on the same day.

The Nifty index closed slightly above its critical support at 23,500, forming a bearish candlestick below the 200-day EMA, signaling caution.

"A follow-up breach below 23,500 would validate a sell-on-rise strategy, with further downside expected. Conversely, holding this support may lead to consolidation. For the short term, 23,500 acts as a key support, while resistance is placed at 23,800, capping any upside," said Vatsal Bhuva of LKP Securities.

(IANS)

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