The Sensex and Nifty, which are equity benchmark indices, experienced a significant decline in early trade on Thursday. The Sensex dropped over 900 points to reach an intraday low of 76,802.73. This decline was primarily caused by a sharp sell-off in stocks belonging to the Adani Group. Additionally, there were persistent outflows of foreign institutional investors and rising geopolitical tensions.

However, as of 12:35 PM, the Sensex showed a slight recovery and was trading at 77,127.42. On the other hand, the Nifty fell by 179.75 points to 23,338.75. Market analysts are closely monitoring investor sentiment ahead of the upcoming state assembly election results. They note that any unfavorable outcomes for the ruling Maharashtra state government could further pressure the markets.

The Nifty PSU Bank index was the biggest laggard, dropping 3.58 percent. This drop was mainly due to heavyweights like State Bank of India, Adani Enterprises, and Adani Ports contributing significantly to the Nifty's losses.