Weak global cues saw the Nifty and the Sensex drop over 1.25 per cent on Thursday. The weakness was pronounced due to the expiry of near-month contracts of equity derivatives.
The Nifty closed at 7,236, down 94 points (-1.28 per cent) while the Sensex shed 322 points (-1.31 per cent), its biggest drop in four months, to close at 24,234.
“F&O volatility continued to take a toll on the broad index and adding to this spoilsport was Infosys, contributing more than a third of the index loss. Given the near-term lull in news flows, the market is yet to build a consensus on what to expect from the forthcoming Budget in July,” said Vinod Nair, Head, Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services.
FIIs were net sellers of equity worth ₹523 crore (total turnover of over ₹14,100 crore) while DIIs bought net equity worth ₹195 crore. Retail investors on the BSE also bought net equity worth ₹83 crore.
Volatility was down 4.94 per cent and the volatility index India Vix closed at 16.69.
Barring media, PSU banks and auto, all broader and sectoral indices closed in the red.