Mumbai, Sep 25 (IANS) The Indian equity indices extended the bearish momentum for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday, fueled by FII outflows, profit booking and persistent selling in the IT sector stocks.

Sensex ended the session at 81,159.68, down 555.95 points or 0.68 per cent. The 30-share index started the session under pressure at 81,574.31 against the last session’s closing of 81,715.63 amid overall selling. The index dragged further to hit an intraday low at 81,092.89.

Nifty closed at 24,890.85, down 166.05 or 0.66 per cent.

“Indian markets extended their losing streak for a fifth straight session as investors booked profits amid persistent FII outflows and uncertainty over US-India trade talks, which is expected to dent Q2 GDP growth, an analyst said.

Broad-based selling prevailed in the market with heavy selling across auto, IT, pharma, and healthcare sectors, while metals gained on the back of China’s liquidity support and copper supply concerns, the analyst added.

Overall, sentiment remains cautious ahead of India’s H2 FY26 borrowing and US macroeconomic data, expected to be released at the end of the week.

Trent, PowerGrid, Tata Motors, TCS, Asian Paints, NTPC, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj FinServ, Mahindra and Mahindra, HCL Tech, Eternal, Titan, Kotak Bank, Tech Mahindra and L&T, SBI and Ultratech Cement closed in negative territory from the Sensex baskets. BEL, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel settled in green.

Sectoral indices closed in red amid persistent selling. Nifty Auto fell 249 points or 0.92 per cent, Nifty FMCG slipped 270 points or 0.49 per cent, Nifty IT closed 445 points or 1.27 per cent lower, Nifty Fin Services dragged 141 points or 0.53 per cent, and Nifty Bank settled 145 points or 0.26 per cent.

Broader indices followed suit as well. Nifty Next 50 dipped 514 points or 0.75 per cent, Nifty 100 slipped 174 points or 0.68 per cent, Nifty Midcap 100 closed 368 points or 0.64 per cent, and Nifty Small Cap 100 fell 102 points or 0.57 per cent.

–IANS

aps/na