Closing Bell: Headline indices close marginally lower in a volatile trading session

Domestic equity bourses Sensex and Nifty started Thursday's session in the red amid weakness across global markets.

The Indian equity market extended losses to the second straight session today as rising oil prices kept investors on edge. Brent crude futures traded above the USD 120 per barrel mark amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Selling in financial and consumer shares pulled the headline indices lower, though gains in oil & gas and metal stocks lent support. During the day, domestic indices swung between gains and losses throughout the session before settling lower.

At the closing bell on March 24, the Sensex was down 89.14 points or 0.15% at 57,595.68, and the Nifty was down 22.90 points or 0.13% at 17,222.80. On the market breadth, around 1426 shares have advanced, 1888 shares declined, and 100 shares are unchanged.

Top Nifty gainers of the day were Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Coal India, Hindalco Industries, UltraTech Cement and Tech Mahindra, while top losers include Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan Company, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC. Among the top laggards, Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top Nifty loser as the stock lost 3.10% to Rs 1,714.95.

On the sectoral basis, IT, oil & gas, metal and pharma indices rose 1% each, while bank index was down 1%. In the broad market, BSE midcap and smallcap indices ended marginally higher.

In the buzzing stocks, stocks of Zee Entertainment rocketed 18% today. US investment firm Invesco said on Thursday it would abandon efforts to shake up top management at Zee Entertainment, citing a planned merger between the Indian TV network and the local unit of Japan's Sony Group.

Invesco, which owns nearly 18% of Zee, had sought the ouster of Zee's chief executive officer and the appointment of new independent board members.