Markets extend losses for second straight day as Sensex falls over 193 pts, Nifty ends below 18,500

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower in highly volatile trade on Thursday due to selling in banking, metal and energy counters amid a mixed trend in the global markets.

Falling for the second day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 193.70 points or 0.31 per cent to settle at 62,428.54 even after a positive beginning. During the day, it fell 263.1 points or 0.42 per cent to 62,359.14. The NSE Nifty fell 46.65 points or 0.25 per cent to finish at 18,487.75.

From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel fell 3.42 and Kotak Mahindra Bank declined 3.31 per cent. ICICI Bank, ITC, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, HCL Technologies and Maruti were the other major laggards. Tata Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Nestle, Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank and IndusInd Bank were among the gainers.

In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge climbed 0.61 per cent and the midcap index advanced 0.11 per cent.

Among the indices, bankex fell 0.82 per cent, metal declined 0.79 per cent, energy (0.65 per cent), financial services (0.41 per cent), telecommunication (0.27 per cent) and commodities (0.18 per cent). Realty jumped 1.19 per cent, healthcare (0.84 per cent), consumer discretionary (0.64 per cent), utilities (0.68 per cent) and IT (0.52 per cent).

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.17 per cent to $ 72.48 a barrel.

The rupee appreciated by 35 paise to close at 82.40 against the US dollar on Thursday, as positive macroeconomic data strengthened investor sentiments.