Sensex Falls Over 250 Points, Nifty Settles Above 8,200

3:47 p.m.: The Sensex finally closed 257 points lower at 26,763 and Nifty declined 69 points to close at 8,204. (Read)

3:08 p.m.: Sensex trades 241 points lower at 26,779 and Nifty declines 64 points to 8,208.

2:56 p.m.: Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories fell as much as 2.24 per cent to hit intraday low of Rs 3,062 after Reuters reported that an US agency has charged India's second biggest pharma company for packaging lapses. (Read)

2:15 p.m.: The stock markets extended losses in the afternoon deals on the back of continuous selling in IT and FMCG shares. The Sensex fell 307 points to 26,713 and Nifty declined 82 points to 8,190.

1:40 p.m.: Market breadth turned neutral as 1,190 stocks were advancing while 1,192 were declining on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

1:12 p.m.: Broader markets continue to outperform the benchmark indices. The BSE small-cap index was up 0.22 per cent and the mid-cap indx was down 0.11 per cent compared with 0.8 per cent decline in the Sensex. Vaibhav Global was the top gainer from this space, up 16 per cent to Rs 294. MMTC, STC India, Hindustan Copper, Supreme Industries and Raj TV were also among the gainers, up 11.5-15.75 per cent each.

1:04 p.m.: The stock markets continue to witness selling pressure. Sensex falls 230 points to 26,790 and Nifty declines 61 points to 8,212.

12:57 p.m.: Select PSU stocks rallied today amid buzz that these companies could soon announce buyback offers. MMTC surged 15 per cent to Rs 44.80, State Trading Corporation of India rose 12 per cent to Rs 102.80 while Dredging Corporation of India advanced 8.4 per cent to Rs 415.70 to be top three gainers in the BSE 500 index. (Read)

12:37 p.m.: Lovable Lingerie shares rallied nearly 6 per cent on Thursday, following Reliance Mutual Fund's purchase of shares in the women's inner-wear maker from open market yesterday.

In a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange, Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management Limited said that Reliance Capital Trustee Company acquired 7,94,937 shares or 4.73 per cent stake in Bangalore-based Lovable Lingerie. (Read)

12:12 p.m.: IT index slips further, plunges nearly 2 per cent on the back of losses in Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra.

11:36 a.m.: The stock markets continue to trade with a negative bias. Sensex falls 202 points to 26,818 and Nifty declines 53 points to 8,219.

11:24 a.m.: Market breadth is marginally positive as 1,135 stocks advance while 960 decline.

11:17 a.m.: Stock markets continue to trade with a negative bias. Sensex falls 180 points to 26,841 and Nifty declines 49 points to 8,224.

11:03 a.m.: Selling pressure in FMCG stocks picks up pace. The BSE FMCG index falls nearly 1 per cent; ITC, Hindustan Uniliver, Colgate Palmolive, Dabur, Emami, United Spirits, GSK Consumer Products, Marico and KRBL were among the losers.

10:51 a.m.: Defensive stocks in India are very expensive as some stocks have very high valuation of 50 times, says Mukul Kochhar, head of institutional sale, India at Investec Capital Services (India) Pvt Ltd.

10:41 a.m.: Infosys shares fell nearly 4 per cent on Thursday after the IT major warned about potential volatility in revenue growth in the coming quarters. Infosys also indicated that its June quarter margins may come under pressure on account of salary hikes.

"Things have not dramatically change since Q4, but given the volatile nature of business... there can be short term or quarterly bumps up and down," said Pravin Rao, chief operating officer of Infosys at an investor conference hosted by Citi on Wednesday. (Read)

10:34 a.m.: Lupin shares fell over 2 per cent on Thursday after the India's third-largest drugmaker recalled over 54,000 vials of anti-bacterial injection Ceftriaxone in US. 

The injections, manufactured at Lupin's Mandideep facility in Madhya Pradesh were recalled due to violation of current good manufacturing norms.

10:24 a.m.: Oil & gas stocks were witnessing buying interest. The BSE Oil & Gas index advanced 1 per cent on the back of gains in Cairn India, Bharat petroleum, Reliance Industries, ONGC, Oil India, HPCL, Indian Oil and GAIL India.

10:11 a.m.: Select small-cap stocks were also witnessing selling pressure. The BSE Small-cap index slipped 0.04 per cent; Virtual Global Education was the top loser from this space, down 6 per cent to Rs 4.89. SRS Ltd, Prakash Steelage, Nyassa Corp, JMT Auto, Picol and 3I Infotech were also among the losers. 

10:02 a.m.: IT stocks were witnessing the heat of selling pressure. The BSE IT index slumped 1.75 per cent; Infosys, Tech Mahindra, TCS, Mindtree, Wipro, KPIT, NIIT Technologies and Persistent Systems were among the laggards.

9:56 a.m.: Banking, realty, auto, capital goods, FMCG, pharma and IT stocks reel under selling pressure.

9:47 a.m.: Sensex extends losses, falls 171 points to 26,849 and Nifty declines 45 points to 8,228.

9:37 a.m.: Mphasis was the top gainer from the mid-cap space, up 2.23 per cent at Rs 562.90. Torrent Power, Union Bank, Tata Global Beverages, Bharat Electronics, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Adani Power, Allahabad Bank and Torrent Pharma were also among the gainers, up 1.4-2 per cent each.

9:23 a.m.: Sensex and Nifty edged lower in opening deals on Thursday tracking selling pressure in IT stocks on the back of strengthening rupee against the US dollar.

At 9:20 a.m., the Sensex traded 89 points lower at 26,931 and Nifty was at 8,250, down 22 points.

IT stocks were witnessing selling pressure for second day in a row on the back of rupee gaining strength against the US dollar. The BSE IT index was the top sectoral loser, down 1.2 per cent.

Select capital goods, healthcare, auto and FMCG stocks were also witnessing selling pressure.

Meanwhile, the broader markets were outperforming the benchmark indices. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices were up 0.3 per cent each.

From the Nifty50 basket of stocks, 28 stocks were advancing while 23 were declining.

Infosys was the top Nifty loser, the stock fell nearly 3 per cent to hit intraday low of Rs 1,203. Dr Reddy's Labs, Lupin, HDFC, Hindustan Uniliver, ITC, Hero MotoCorp, Maruti Suzuki and Asian Paints were also among the prominent laggards, down 0.5-2.4 per cent each.

On the other hand, Tata Power was the top Nifty gainer, up 1.85 per cent at Rs 77. Bharat Petroleum, NTPC, Reliance Industries, Zee Entertainment and Axis Bank were also among the gainers.