By IANS,
Mumbai : A benchmark index for Indian equities Monday closed 116 points down, paring intra-day gains, as metal, realty and capital goods scrips were hit by selling pressure.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 18,169.8 points, shut shop at 18,050.78 points, down 116.25 points or 0.64 percent lower from its previous close at 18,167.03 points.
It had hit an intra-day high of 18,203.92 points and an intra-day low of 17,997.46 points.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE),the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed 0.62 percent or 33.8 points lower at 5,418.3 points.
Broader markets indices closed in a slump with the BSE midcap index up 0.08 percent and the smallcap index 0.25 percent lower.
The market breadth was weak, with 1,272 stocks advancing, 1,695 declining and 103 remaining unchanged.
Among the gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever, up 1.58 percent at Rs.269.90; ITC, up 1.28 percent at Rs.158; Hero Honda, up 0.4 percent at Rs.1,891.75; and Maruti Suzuki, down 0.38 percent at Rs.1,253.75.
The losing scrips included Cipla, down 3.63 percent at Rs.304; Reliance Infra, down 3.4 percent at Rs.1,046.70; Reliance Comm, down 2.74 percent at Rs.163.50; and Jaiprakash Associates, down 2.57 percent at Rs.117.55.
In other Asian markets, the Japanese Nikkei declined 0.61 percent to 9,196.67 points after economic data released showed that growth slowed down sharply in the April-June quarter compared to the last two quarters.
The Korean Kospi too ended down 0.17 percent at 1,743.31 points.
Demand for healthcare and banking stocks helped the Chinese Shanghai Composite index move up a robust 2.11 percent to close at 2,661.71 points, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng nudged up 0.19 percent at 21,112.12 points.
European bourses were ruling in a slump with traders choosing to sell after the bleak Japanese economic growth data fuelled concerns over the state of the global economic recovery.
At the closing bell here, the FTSE 100 was trading 0.19 percent lower at 5,265.54 points, while the German DAX was flat at 6,104.83 points. The French CAC 40 was trading 0.74 percent lower at 3,584.21 points.