By IANS,
Mumbai : Indian equities markets slumped for the fourth consecutive day Thursday after having given up slender gains garnered in afternoon’s trade, with a key index ending 69 points lower than its previous closing figure.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 15,539.34 points, ended at 15,398.33 points, down 69.13 points or 0.45 percent.
The broader-based Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) followed the Sensex to end at 4,593.55 points, up 0.32 percent.
Broader market indices, however, ended on the gaining side, with the BSE midcap index closing 0.22 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index ending 0.71 percent up.
The market breadth was positive, with 1,402 stocks advancing, 1,350 declining and 93 remaining unchanged.
Among the gainers were Reliance Communications, up 5.31 percent at Rs.290.70; Sterlite, up 1.64 percent at Rs.645.55; Infosys, up 1.06 percent at Rs.2,188.20; and Tata Steel, up 1 percent at Rs.420.60.
The leading losers were Reliance Industries, down 2.01 percent at Rs.1,932.10; M&M, down 1.95 percent at Rs.813.40; Bharti Airtel, down 1.77 percent at Rs.405.35; and Tata Motors, down 1.62 percent at Rs.509.80.
According to data with the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors sold shares worth $117 million Thursday.
Trading at other important Asian markets was mixed.
The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 65.82 points or 0.64 percent lower at 10,214.64 points.
But at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the benchmark SSE composite shut shop 4.79 percent up at 2,845.02 points.
Similarly, the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Hang Seng, also ended in the green at 19,761.7 points, up 239.68 points or 1.23 percent.
Trading at major European exchanges was lacklustre.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was ruling only 0.03 percent higher at 4,818.81 points, while its French peer, the CAC 40, was also up 0.03 percent at 3,574.12 points.
Germany’s DAX was ruling in the positive at 5,327.79 points, up 0.15 percent.