Indian equity markets traded lower on June 29 after surrendering early gains as profit booking and sector-specific weakness weighed on investor sentiment. The Sensex declined nearly 350 points from the day's high, while the Nifty slipped close to the 24,000 mark during intraday trade.

At around 11:55 IST, the Sensex was down 239.36 points, or 0.31%, at 76,861.11, while the Nifty fell 51.65 points, or 0.21%, to 24,004.35. Market breadth remained negative, with declining stocks outnumbering advancing shares on the NSE.

Profit booking emerged as one of the primary reasons behind the decline after the recent market rally. Although easing geopolitical tensions and relatively stable crude oil prices continued to support the broader outlook, investors chose to lock in gains, limiting further upside. Nine of the 16 major sectoral indices traded in negative territory, while the broader markets also weakened, with the Nifty Smallcap and Midcap indices posting modest losses.

Information technology stocks came under significant pressure, with the Nifty IT index falling more than 1%. Persistent Systems led the decline after announcing a voluntary public takeover offer for Germany-based digital engineering company Nagarro SE. The proposed acquisition drew cautious reactions from several brokerages, which highlighted concerns over valuation, debt-funded financing, execution risks and integration challenges.

Automobile stocks also witnessed broad-based selling, pulling the Nifty Auto index down nearly 2% and adding to the weakness in benchmark indices.

From a technical perspective, market participants remained cautious as analysts indicated that the Nifty needs to sustain a decisive move above the 24,100 level to resume its upward momentum. Until then, traders may continue to witness range-bound movement and intermittent profit booking.