Caution ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections along with subdued global factors including high crude oil prices and geo-political tensions in the Middle East dragged the Indian equity indices lower on Thursday.
According to market observers, heavy selling pressure was witnessed in consumer durables, capital goods and healthcare stocks.
At 3.30 p.m., the broader Nifty50 of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) provisionally closed at 10,716.55 points -- down 25.15 points or 0.23 per cent -- from its previous close of 10,741.70 points.
Similarly the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) on the BSE closed in the red. It had opened at 35,353.96 points and closed at 35,246.27 points (3.30 p.m.) -- down 73.08 points or 0.21 per cent -- from its previous session's close of 35,319.35 points.
The Sensex touched a high of 35,500.76 points and a low of 35,203.85 points during the intra-day trade.
The BSE market breadth was bearish with 1,887 declines and 779 advances.
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The major gainers on the BSE were ONGC, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors (DVR) and Coal India, while Dr Reddy's Lab, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Tata Steel were among the major losers.
On the NSE, the top gainers were ONGC, Bharti Airtel and Eicher Motors. The major losers were Indiabulls Housing Finance and Tata Motors.
--IANS
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