Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty fell for the second day on Thursday dragged down by losses in IT stocks and relentless foreign fund outflows.

Falling for the second day in a row, the BSE Sensex tumbled 553.12 points or 0.69 per cent to settle at 79,389.06. During the day, it slumped 654.25 points or 0.81 per cent to 79,287.93.

The NSE Nifty fell by 135.50 points or 0.56 per cent to 24,205.35.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Asian Paints, Infosys and Maruti Suzuki were the biggest laggards.

In contrast, Larsen & Toubro jumped over 6 per cent after the infrastructure major posted a 5 per cent rise in consolidated profit after tax to Rs 3,395 crore in the September 2024 quarter on account of higher income.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Power Grid, JSW Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank and Sun Pharma were also among the gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,613.65 crore, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled lower while Shanghai ended in the green.

European markets were trading in the red. The US markets ended in negative territory on Wednesday.

"Markets traded under pressure on monthly expiry day, slipping over half a per cent. Early weakness in IT majors weighed on sentiment, with other sectors joining the decline later in the session. However, resilience in select heavyweight stocks helped limit the overall losses," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd, said.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.36 per cent to USD 72.81 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark tumbled 426.85 points or 0.53 per cent to settle at 79,942.18 on Wednesday. The Nifty dropped 126 points or 0.51 per cent to 24,340.85.

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