Equity markets end lower

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices ended lower on Wednesday after three days of gain amid profit-taking ahead of key macroeconomic data announcements as well as the first quarter earnings from TCS and HCL Technologies.

Fag-end selling pulled down the 30-share BSE Sensex lower, which declined 223.94 points or 0.34 per cent to settle at 65,393.90. During the day, it hit a low of 65,320.25 and a high of 65,811.64.

The NSE Nifty fell by 55.10 points or 0.28 per cent to end at 19,384.30.

"Markets showed resilience in early trades, but the upward march had been showing signs of fatigue of late and investors today pulled the plug ahead of key domestic inflation data and the US CPI inflation... As the global economy remains under pressure, local markets are likely to witness bouts of profit-taking during such prolonged rallies," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.

India's industrial production rose 5.2 per cent in May, according to the official data released on Wednesday evening.

Retail inflation in June rose to a three-month high of 4.81 per cent.

The country's largest software exporter TCS on Wednesday reported a 16.83 per cent jump in its June quarter net profit at Rs 11,074 crore.

From the Sensex pack, Infosys, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, HDFC Bank, NTPC, IndusInd Bank, Larsen & Toubro, HCL Technologies, Power Grid, Maruti, HDFC and Tata Steel were the major laggards.

Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints, Nestle, Titan, State Bank of India and Reliance Industries were the gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.57 per cent and midcap index jumped 0.48 per cent.