IT Stocks Trigger Sensex, Nifty Decline: Mid-Day Market Update

India's stock benchmarks declined, dragged by losses in oil and gas, metals, information technology and energy stocks.

The Sensex and Nifty 50 were down 0.9% each in the afternoon trade on Thursday. The 30-stock gauge lost over 550.83 points to hover around 58,990. The Nifty 50 traded around 17,600.

Of the Nifty 50 stocks, 14 rose, while 36 fell.

The broader indices outperformed larger peers, with the mid-cap gauge losing 0.4% and the small cap down 0.5%. Nine of the 19 sectoral indices compiled by BSE Ltd. advanced. The IT index shed nearly 2%.

The market breadth, however, was skewed in favour of the bulls. About 1,937 stocks rose, 1,361 fell and 180 remained unchanged.