The benchmark indices snapped a seven-day gaining streak to end marginally lower on Thursday as Bharti Airtel Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Larsen & Toubro weighed on them.
The NSE Nifty 50 settled 37 points or 0.17%, lower at 20,901.15, while the S&P BSE Sensex closed 132 points or 0.19%, lower at 69,521.69.
However, the broader market indices outperformed, with the Nifty Midcap 100 closing 0.6% higher and the Nifty Smallcap 100 gaining 0.4%.
Despite the fact that the Nifty 50 fell on the first tick of the morning, the momentum towards downside bias could not conquest the sentiment, leading to a sideways trend, according to Avdhut Bagkar, technical and derivatives analyst at StoxBox.
"The entire session was range-bound, with higher side resistance acting at 20,940 and lower support subsiding at 20,860."
Global Cues
Asian markets tracked comments from Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda, which raised concerns about a sooner-than-expected shift from the country's negative interest rate policy and closed lower on Thursday.
Ueda said that the monetary policy will become even more challenging from year-end and heading into next year. Following the comments, the European markets also opened lower.
Shares of Bharti Airtel, ITC, Larsen & Toubro, Hindustan Unilever Ltd., and Infosys Ltd. declined the most in the Nifty.
Power Grid Corp., HDFC Bank Ltd., Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd., UltraTech Cement Ltd. and Titan Co. led the gains.
The Nifty Bank ended flat and five sectoral indices gained. Energy rose the most, while FMCG, Metal and IT fell.
The BSE's broader markets also outperformed, as the MidCap rose 0.65% while the SmallCap was 0.28% higher. Six out of the 20 sectors compiled by the BSE declined, while 14 advanced.
The market breadth was skewed in favour of buyers. About 2,153 stocks gained, 1,602 fell and 123 were unchanged.
Essential Business Intelligence, Continuous LIVE TV, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
