Mumbai, April 24 : The Indian stock market ended lower on Thursday, as investors booked profits after a strong seven-day bull rally.

Sentiments were also hit by the Pahalgam terror attack, along with the expiry of the April derivatives contracts on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

The Sensex opened slightly lower at 80,058 and briefly touched a high of 80,174 in early trade. However, selling pressure dragged the index down through the day.

It fell to an intra-day low of 79,725 before settling at 79,801, down 315 points. With this, the Sensex snapped its seven-day winning streak, during which it had jumped 6,269 points.

The Nifty also saw a similar trend. It traded within a narrow range of 131 points, moving between a high of 24,348 and a low of 24,216.

The Nifty finally closed at 24,247, down 82 points. Despite Thursday's fall, the Nifty managed to post a gain of 656 points, or 2.8 per cent, in the April futures and options series.

"Markets remained subdued, trading within a narrow range on the monthly expiry day of the April derivatives contracts, and ended slightly lower,' said Ajit Mishra-SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd.

He added that this phase of consolidation in the index is in line with expectations and may continue in the coming sessions.

'Therefore, we recommend maintaining a focus on stock selection and using market dips as buying opportunities,' Mishra mentioned.

Among the top losers, Hindustan Unilever slipped 4 per cent after it reported a slight decline in its March quarter net profit.

Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and Eternal (Zomato) also ended 1-2 per cent lower. On the other hand, IndusInd Bank was the top gainer, rising over 3 per cent. UltraTech Cement, Tata Motors and Titan also ended in the green.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index was down 0.2 per cent, while the SmallCap index closed flat.

Sector-wise, FMCG stocks came under pressure, with the BSE FMCG index falling 0.8 per cent. Realty stocks were also weak, dragging the sectoral index down by 1.4 per cent.

Banking stocks saw mild selling, as the BSE Bankex lost 0.4 per cent. However, healthcare stocks saw buying interest and the index ended 0.6 per cent higher.

Cement stocks were among the top performers in Thursday's trade. Market experts believe some profit-taking was expected after the recent strong rally, and geopolitical concerns added to the nervousness.

'Investors will now focus on upcoming earnings and global cues for further direction,' analysts noted.

/IANS