New Delhi, April 18 : Nifty declined for the fourth consecutive session on Thursday amid selling pressure in the second half.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) have been heavily selling equities worth Rs 15763 crore in the last three days.

Nifty after opening positive witnessed selling pressure in the second half of the day and closed with the loss of 152 points at 21996 levels.

Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services, said barring IT, metals & PSU banks, all sectors ended in red including mid-cap and small-cap. The market saw some relief at the start of the session on the back of a healthy outlook by the IMF on the Indian Economy. However, it failed to sustain at higher levels amid volatility and declined for the fourth consecutive day.

Strong selling by FIIs of Rs 15763 crore in the last three days due to the uncertain global environment also dampened the sentiments, he said.

'Overall, we expect volatility to continue in the market in the absence of any major positive trigger, while focus will continue on stock-specific action amid earnings season,' he said.

Hrishikesh Yedve, AVP Technical and Derivatives Research at Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates said the Nifty index concluded the day in negative territory at 21,996, with huge volatility owing to ongoing geopolitical concerns. From a technical standpoint, if the index sustains above 22,000 levels, then a relief rally towards 22,300-22,500 could be possible; conversely, sustaining below 21,950 levels could lead to further weakness towards 21,800-21,700.

/IANS