Benchmark indices ended lower on the expiry day, dragged by heavyweights like RIL, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and others, as Brent crude prices rose above $75 per barrel for the first time in 2019. Negative sentiment in the global markets also affected the indices.
The rupee was also under pressure. The currency fell 0.34 percent to 70.11 against the dollar on Thursday, its weakest level in nearly seven weeks.
In the Asian markets, shares slipped as a surprise deterioration in German and South Korean economic data rekindled fears of slowing global growth.
The BSE Sensex settled at 38,731, down 324 points, while the broader NSE Nifty50 was at 11,642, falling 84 points. Among broader markets, Nifty Midcap index fell 0.4 percent and the Nifty Smallcap index was flat.
Grasim, Ultratech Cement, BPCL, Dr Reddy's and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers on the Nifty while Bharti Infratel, Tata Steel, Vedanta, Maruti and Hindalco fell the most on the index.
All sectoral indices except Nifty Realty ended the day in the red. Nifty Metal fell the most followed by banking indices, which fell over 1 percent each.
Nifty Bank was down over 1 percent, dragged by Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Axis Bank, SBI and ICICI Bank.
Tata Steel fell 2.5 percent ahead of its March-quarter results.
Shares of UltraTech Cement rose 5 percent. The cement maker's profit for the March quarter more than doubled to Rs 1,017 crore, beating expectations.
Bharti Infratel cracked 9.5 percent after the telecom tower operator missed expectations for quarterly profit. CLSA downgraded the stock to 'sell' from 'outperform' and cut its target price post the results.
Maruti Suzuki fell nearly 2 percent after its fourth-quarter net profit declined 4.5 percent to Rs 1,795.6 crore from Rs 1,882.1 crore in the same quarter last year.
Indiabulls Housing also slipped nearly 2 percent after it reported a 7 percent year-on-year (YoY) drop in net profit at Rs 1,006 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31.
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