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Markets have closed the session on a lower note, snapping three day winning streak, weighed down by financials and oil shares.
Financial shares ended lower on account of profit booking after recent run-up whereas oil shares reeled under selling pressure after the government raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel.
The 30-share Sensex ended 68 points lower at 27,941 and the 50-share Nifty was down 25 points at 8,358.
The broader markets ended marginally lower- BSE Mid-cap and Small-cap indices were up 0.2-0.3%.
The market breadth in BSE ended weak with 1,714 shares declining and 1,333 shares advancing.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors were net buyers in Indian equities worth Rs 459.47crore on Wednesday, as per provisional stock exchange data.
At 15:30, the rupee was trading at 61.57 versus Wednesday's close of 61.4925/5000.
ASIAN MARKETS
Japanese stocks rose to fresh seven-year highs on Thursday as investors lapped up a media report that said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe appears to have decided to call an early election amid mounting expectations hewould postpone a planned sales tax hike.
The report from Jiji news agency was the latest in a spate of shifting speculation that has kept markets rapt this week. The Nikkei benchmark ended 1.1% higher to 17,392.79, the highest closing level since June 2007.
SECTORAL INDICES
BSE Oil & Gas index slumped by nearly 2% followed by counters like Metal, Banks, Power and Realty, all falling between 0.4-1%. However, BSE IT and Healthcare indices gained by nearly 1% each.
Oil shares reeled under selling pressure after the government raised the excise duty on petrol and diesel to boost revenues and contain budget borrowing that could put off a likely cut in the retail prices of the two fuels.
The government has raised the factory gate tax by Rs 1.50 a litre each for the two fuels. This is the seventh reduction in petrol prices since August and the third in rates of diesel since its decontrol last month.
Following the hike, excise duty for unbranded petrol to cost Rs 2.70 per litre and Rs 3.85 per litre for branded petrol.
Shares of the frontline banks ended lower on profit booking after rallying nearly 14% in past one month.
In past one month, Bank Nifty rallied 13.8% against 6.4% rise in the benchmark index till yesterday after the Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation declined to its lowest level in five years in September. The October WPI inflation data is due on Friday, 14 November.
Meanwhile, the Consumer-Price Index (CPI) based inflation rose to 5.52% in October compared to the same period last year, its lowest rate since the government started releasing the data in February 2012.
STOCKS IN FOCUS
The main losers on the Sensex were Tata Power, Sesa Sterlite, GAIL, ONGC, Hero Moto, Axis Bank and HDFC.
From the financial space, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Bank of Baroda, Axis Bank, Bank of India, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank were down between 1-3% on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
Shares of oil and gas companies were under pressure after the government raised excise duty on petrol and diesel in an attempt to boost revenues and contain budget borrowing.
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) like HPCL, BPCL and IOC were the top losers down 3.5-5.5%. Cairn India, Oil India, GAIL, ONGC and Reliance Industries were off 0.6-4%.
On the gaining side, Infosys, Dr Reddy’s Labs, Cipla, Wipro and Bharti Airtel were up 1-2%.
Shares of sugar manufactures were in demand and ended higher by up to 17% on the bourses. Bajaj Hindustan, Balrampur Chini Mills, Shree Renuka Sugars, Upper Ganges Sugar and Industries, Dhampur Sugar Mills and Oudh Sugar Mills were up 3- 17% on the BSE.
In a major relief to private sugar mills, the Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Wednesday decided not to increase sugarcane prices for the 2014-15 crushing season.
Whirlpool of India zoomed 16% to Rs 610 on National Stock Exchange (NSE), on back of heavy volumes.
