Domestic equity benchmarks extended losses to the fourth session in a row on Thursday amid a global sell-off following the Federal Reserve's more cautious outlook on futures rate cuts than in September. The Sensex ended 964.2 points, or 1.2 per cent, lower at 79,218.1 while the Nifty50 settled at 23,951.7, down 247.2 points, or 1.0 per cent, from its previous close. Heavy across-the-board selling pulled the main indices lower, with financial, IT, energy and FMCG stocks being the worst hit.

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During the session, the Sensex fell as much as 1,162.1 points to 79,020.1 while the Nifty50 descended to as low as 23,870.3. 

At the end of the day, The Bajaj twins, JSW Steel, Grasim, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, BEL, Reliance TCS and Infosys were the worst hit among the 36 losers in the Nifty50 basket, closing between 1.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent lower. DRL, Cipla, BPCL, Sun Pharma, Apollo Hospitals, Hero MotoCorp and Eicher Motors were the top blue-chip gainers, rising between 0.4 per cent and 4.0 per cent.

The US central bank announced a 25-basis-point cut in the benchmark US interest rates, but the Federal Open Market Committee's projections indicated two rate cuts in 2025, half of what was predicted in September. 

Overall market breadth remained extremely negative with an advance-decline ratio of 3:5 on BSE. In other words, three stocks rose for every five falling scrips on the exchange. 

Global Markets

European shares began the day on a weaker note, mirroring losses across Asian stocks after a sell-off on Wall Street, with Stoxx 600 trading 1.2 per cent lower in early trade. Among major indices from the continent, the UK's FTSE 100 and France's CAC were down 1.2 per cent each while Germany's DAX was down 1.0 per cent. 

Dow Jones futures, however, held 0.2 per cent higher, suggesting a positive start ahead on Wall Street following Wednesday's slide.  

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