Mumbai, July 31 (IANS) The Indian stock market settled slightly down after a highly volatile session on Thursday. The domestic indices showed resilience, averting a big crash post US tariff imposition on India, driven by buying interest in FMCG stocks. Sensex ended the session at 81,185.58, down 296.28 points or 0.36 per cent. The 30-share index opened the trading with a significant fall at 80,695.50 against the last session's closing of 81,481.86. The index showed some resiliency, erasing early gains and returning in green in the afternoon, hitting an intraday high at 81,803.27 amid buying in the consumer sector. However, it did not hold up the momentum in the closing hour due to a monthly expiry day.

Nifty closed at 24,768.35, down 86.70 points or 0.35 per cent. According to analysts, India’s true strength lies in its economic resilience. Tata Steel, Sun Pharma, NTPC, Reliance, Asian Paints, L&T and Titan were the top losers from the Sensex basket. While Hindustan Unilever, Eternal, ITC, and Kotak Mahindra Bank settled in green. The selling pressure gripped the broader market as well. Nifty 100 fell 95 points or 0.38 per cent, Nifty Mid cap 100 dragged 541 points or 0.93 per cent, and Nifty Small cap 100 ended the session 190 points or 1.05 per cent lower.

Meanwhile, amid a bearish market, Nifty FMCG soared 791 points or 1.44 per cent, driven by buying interest- especially in Hindustan Unilever after it reported decent earnings in Q1. Other sectoral indices settled in negative territory with Nifty Auto falling 89 points, Nifty IT slipping 180 points, and Nifty Bank closing 188 points down. The domestic market attempted a strong recovery after experiencing a sharp decline, but by the end of the day, it closed with marginal losses on a monthly expiry day. "Investors gravitated toward domestically oriented, non-discretionary players, especially FMCG, which offered attractive valuations, demand outlook and relative insulation from tariff risks," said analysts.