Sensex falls 440 points, Nifty slips 118 points; Cipla gains 10%

The Indian stock market fell on Thursday, with the Sensex closing 440 points lower at 66,266 and the Nifty down 118 points at 19,659.

Of the 30 Sensex stocks, 17 declined and 13 advanced. Cipla was the top gainer, rising 9.78%, followed by Sun Pharma, Divis Lab, Hero MotoCorp, Apollo Hospitals, HDFC Life, Hindalco and Tata Motors.

The decline was led by M&M, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consumer, Britannia, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, BPCL, Axis Bank, Adani Enterprises and ONGC.

The auto sector was the worst performer, falling 1.21%. The private bank sector was the only other sector to decline, falling 0.92%.

The pharma sector was the top gainer, rising 3.05%. The realty sector and the PSU bank sector also rose, gaining 2.12% and 0.50%, respectively.

The decline in the stock market came after Tech Mahindra released weak results for the first quarter of the financial year 2023-24. The company's net profit fell 38.8% to Rs 692.5 crore during the quarter, as against Rs 1,131.6 crore in the same quarter last year.

The stock market had a strong rally yesterday, with the Sensex rising 351 points and the Nifty gaining 98 points.

Key reasons for the decline:

Weak results from Tech Mahindra

Concerns about the global economic outlook

Rising inflation

Outlook:

The stock market is expected to remain volatile in the near term. Investors are advised to stay cautious and avoid taking large positions.