Domestic equity benchmark Sensex ended 95 points lower on Thursday as losses mainly in banking counters offset gains in shares of IT and consumer durables.
Despite opening on a positive note, the BSE Sensex ended 95.09 points or 0.24% lower at 38,990.94; while the NSE Nifty closed 7.55 points or 0.07% down at 11,527.45.
ICICI Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2%, followed by Bharti Airtel, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank and PowerGrid.
On the other hand, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Nestle, Maruti, Sun Pharma and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi said, Indian market opened marginally positive owing to mixed global cues as investors in Asian markets react to a slew of economic data releases for China and European markets.
The market, however, turned negative after the latest IHS Markit Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) contracted for the sixth successive month in August.
The seasonally adjusted India Services Business Activity Index rose sharply from 34.2 in July to 41.8 in August, the highest since March, before the escalation of the pandemic.
The downturn in India’s services sector activity eased in August but remained in the contraction zone as COVID-19 pandemic-induced restrictions continued to adversely impact client demand and business operations.
Bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in the red, while Tokyo and Seoul closed with gains.
Stock exchanges on in Europe were trading on a positive note in early deals.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.40% lower at $43.81 per barrel.
In the forex market, the rupee depreciated 44 paise and closed at 73.47 against the U.S. Dollar.
