Profit booking, parliament logjam dents equity markets (Third Lead)

Profit booking, coupled with the logjam in parliament and negative global cues, subdued the Indian equity markets on Thursday.

The sell-off was accelerated by a marginal decline in crude oil prices and the decision by the Bank of Japan (BoJ) to maintain the status quo in its monetary policy.

This led to key indices of the Indian equity markets provisionally closing the day's trade in the red.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) declined by 133.20 points or 1.67 percent, at 7,846.70 points.

The barometer 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the BSE, which opened at 26,078.28 points, provisionally closed at 25,603.10 points (3.30 p.m.) -- 461.02 points or 1.77 percent down from the previous close at 26,064.12 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 26,100.54 points and a low of 25,561.17 points during the intra-day trade.

The BSE market breadth was tilted in favour of the bears -- with 1,672 declines and 854 advances.

On Wednesday, both the key Indian indices had marginally ended on a higher note. The barometer index had risen by 57 points or 0.22 percent, while the NSE Nifty had gained 17.25 points or 0.22 percent.

--IANS

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