Stock markets decline after 7-day rally; HUL drops 4% post earnings
The Hindu
Equity markets decline due to selling in blue-chip stocks, muted global trends, and disappointing earnings reports.
Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Thursday (April 24, 2025) amid profit-taking after a seven-day rally and disappointing earnings from Hindustan Unilever.
Selling in blue-chips ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel and a largely muted trend in Asian and European equities also dragged the markets lower.
The 30-share BSE benchmark declined 315.06 points or 0.39% to settle at 79,801.43. During the day, it dropped 391.94 points or 0.48% to 79,724.55.
The NSE Nifty went down by 82.25 points or 0.34% to 24,246.70.
In the past seven trading days, the BSE benchmark gauge zoomed 6,269.34 points or 8.48% and the Nifty jumped 1,929.8 points or 8.61%.
From the Sensex firms, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) dropped 4% after the firm reported a decline of 3.35% in consolidated net profit at ₹2,475 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2025 on lower margins.
Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, Eternal, Mahindra & Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finance were also among the laggards.
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