Mumbai, Feb 17 (PTI) Key benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower for a second day on Thursday in a volatile session after a selloff in banking and IT stocks amid lingering geopolitical worries.

After oscillating over 700 points between gains and losses during the day, the 30-share BSE Sensex finally ended 104.67 points or 0.18 per cent lower at 57,892 points. As many as 19 constituents declined while 11 advanced.

Also Read | Vivo V23e 5G India Launch on February 21, 2022; Check Expected Prices & Specifications Here.

The broader NSE Nifty dropped 17.60 points or 0.10 per cent to settle the day at 17,304.60 – marking its second straight session of loss.

Among Sensex stocks, ICICI Bank fell the most by 2 per cent, followed by UltratechCement (1.9 per cent) and Axis Bank (1.79 per cent). IndusInd Bank declined by 1.27 per cent, Nestle by 0.85 per cent and TCS by 0.76 per cent.

Also Read | Hyderabad Shocker: 16-Year-Old Girl Killed by Mother, Paramour Over Affair; Accused Arrested.

Infosys, HDFC Bank, SBI, Kotak Bank, and Bharti Airtel also declined.

However, gains in HDFC and Reliance Industries restricted the losses in the Sensex.

HDFC rose the most by 1.71 per cent while Reliance Industries advanced by 1.35 per cent. HUL rose by 0.85 per cent and PowerGrid by 0.43 per cent.

"Markets kept on vacillating near the previous session's close throughout the day. Many attempts were made by the bulls to take it higher past yesterday's close into positive territory, buy all were futile and markets eventually closed in the red territory," Devarsh Vakil, Deputy Head - Retail Research, HDFC Securities said.

Outcome of state elections and fears of interest rate hikes in India and abroad continue to plague the sentiments, Vakil stated.

"The looming uncertainty around Russia-Ukraine kept the participants on the edge till the end," Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.

The BSE Midcap index declined by 0.22 per cent while the BSE Smallcap index by 0.67 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, Banking and Healthcare indices fell the most, while Oil & Gas and FMCG were the top gainers.

The market width was largely negative as of the total of 3,473 stocks traded, 2,069 stocks declined on BSE. As many as 1,303 advanced and 101 closed unchanged.

Elsewhere in Asia, markets ended mostly higher in line with positive Wall Street after Federal Reserve policymakers indicated they are leaning toward more decisive action on inflation but set no firm targets.

Global crude oil benchmark Brent Futures fell 0.86 per cent to USD 93.99 per barrel on Thursday.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 1,890.96 crore, according to stock exchange data.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)