Domestic equity benchmarks BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty declined on Thursday after a sharp uptick at the opening bell, weighed down by profit booking and selling pressure in banking, auto and other heavyweight stocks.

At close, the Sensex declined 122.56 points, or 0.16 per cent, to close at 77,988.68, slipping 741 points from the day's high of 78,730.32, while the Nifty declined 34.55points, or 0.14 per cent, to settle at 24,196.75. 

Markets are waiting for clarity on the second round of US-Iran negotiations, which will determine the near-term trend, said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

Among Sensex constituents, HDFC Bank emerged as the top loser, falling 1.75% to Rs 795.50. Titan Company followed with a 1.45% slide, while Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Bajaj Finance declined 0.99%, 0.82%, 0.75% and 0.74%, respectively.   

While Trent, Eternal and Adani Ports were among the gainers on the 30-pack index, which rose up to 2.81%. 

Five stocks, namely HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Titan and Kotak Mahindra Bank, contributed largely to the Sensex’s fall.  

Among sectoral indices, the BSE Top 10 Banks index fell 0.70% to settle at 16,717.07, while the BSE Auto index slipped 0.22% to close at 58,278.22.

“Initial optimism around a potential second round of US-Iran talks helped cool crude prices, offering some relief to inflation concerns. However, the market’s inability to hold gains suggests that investors remain cautious and are not yet willing to chase the rally aggressively,” said Hariprasad K, SEBI-registered research analyst and founder, Livelong Wealth.