Indian equity benchmarks extended morning losses in afternoon trade on Thursday, with technology stocks leading the decline amid continued selling by foreign investors and mixed global cues.

THE BSE Sensex fell 471.85 points or 0.59 percent to 79,470.33, while the Clever NSE fell 113.25 points or 0.47 percent to 24,227.60 at 12:32 p.m. The market as a whole showed mixed trends, with 2,431 stocks rising and 1,319 falling following the BSE.

IT stocks faced significant selling pressure with Tech Mahindra emerging as the top loser in Nifty, down 3.93 per cent. Other major IT companies also declined, including HCL Technologies (-2.73 percent), TCS (-2.59 percent) and Wipro (-2.41 percent). Shriram Finance fell 2.55 percent.

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However, pharmaceutical company Cipla jumped 10.24 per cent, extending its morning gains to become the biggest gainer. Infrastructure giant Larsen & Toubro continued its strong performance, up 6.93 percent. Other notable gainers include Hero MotoCorp (2.17 percent), ONGC (2.01 percent) and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (1.34 percent).

Sectoral indices showed weakness, with Nifty Bank losing 331.50 points or 0.64 percent to 51,476.00, while Nifty Financial Services fell 170.25 points or 0.71 percent to 23,867.15. . The Nifty Midcap Select index saw a steeper decline of 1.14 per cent.

Market breadth remained positive despite the index decline, with 143 stocks hitting a 52-week high, compared to 20 stocks hitting a 52-week low. Additionally, 372 stocks hit the upper circuit while 117 stocks hit the lower circuit.

The cautious start to the morning, which saw marginal gains, gave way to increased selling pressure as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling streak.

Market analysts maintain their outlook for the Nifty with resistance at 24,500, as investors face increased volatility and mixed economic signals from global markets, particularly the United States.