Indian equity markets closed lower for the third consecutive session on Wednesday, January 7 as ongoing geopolitical tensions kept investors on edge and selling pressure in automobile and oil marketing company stocks weighed on overall sentiment. At the close of trading, the BSE Sensex fell 102.20 points to 84,961.14, while the NSE Nifty declined 37.95 points to 26,140.75. On the other hand, the rupee strengthened by 30 paise against the US dollar, closing at 89.88 (provisional).
While large-cap stocks declined, mid-cap and small-cap stocks saw gains. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 276.15 points, or 0.45 percent, to 61,424.70, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index gained 70.65 points, or 0.40 percent, to 17,958.50.
Shares of Titan, HCL Tech, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Sun Pharma, TCS, ICICI Bank, Eternal, L&T, BEL, and Trent were among the gainers. Maruti Suzuki, Power Grid, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints, Tata Steel, HUL, SBI, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Bajaj Finance, Indigo, and Bajaj Finserv were among the losers on Wednesday.