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The Indian stock market remained in red for the sixth consecutive session on Thursday as selling was seen in the PSU bank, pharma, FMCG and metal sectors. 

Sensex closed at 77,580.31 after dropping 110.64 points or 0.14 per cent and Nifty closed at 23,532.70 after a marginal decline of 26.35 points or 0.11 per cent.

Nifty Bank rose 91.20 points or 0.18 per cent to 50,179.55. Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 54,043.10 at the end of trading after rising 242.25 points or 0.45 per cent.

The Nifty Small cap 100 index closed at 17,601.05 after rising 142.15 points or 0.81 per cent.

Buying was seen in the auto, IT, financial services, realty, media, private banks and infrastructure sectors of Nifty. PSU banks, pharma, FMCG and metal sectors remained under pressure.

In the Sensex pack, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tech Mahindra, M&M, HDFC Bank, Asian Paints and JSW Steel were top gainers and Hindustan Unilever Limited, NTPC, Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, Power Grid and Tata Motors were top losers.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,159 stocks traded in green and 1,798 stocks in red. There was no change in 93 stocks.

According to market experts, Sensex and Nifty50 extended their losing streak, marking a sixth consecutive session in the red.

Both indices reversed course as global pressures and persistent foreign investor selling weighed on sentiment.

Vikram Kasat of PL Capital said that a strong dollar index, now at 106.61, and the US 10-year bond yield at 4.48 per cent have intensified headwinds for Indian equities, further strained by the rupee’s depreciation to a historic low of 84.40 against the dollar.

Market will look forward to improvement in domestic business and economy data, in anticipation of a rebound in government spending which reduced during the year due to national and state elections, said experts.