Sensex, Nifty Fall For Fourth Day; I.T., Pharma, Cushion Losses

Indian equity markets ended off the lowest point of the day but ended with declines for the fourth straight session, in-line with the global sentiment.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended 0.8% lower at 37,734 while the NSE Nifty 50 index fell 0.9% to 11,153.

This is the longest losing streak for the benchmark indices in nearly two months. Both Sensex and the Nifty have ended at their lowest level since August 5 this year.

I.T. and Pharma stocks cushioned the losses seen by the benchmark indices. Both sectoral indices were the only sectoral gainers in today's trading session. Both the indices ended with gains of 0.7% each. Top three gainers on the Nifty 50 index were I.T. stocks.

The top sectoral laggard today was the media index, ending lower by 2.6%, led by losses in Zee Entertainment, which was also the top laggard on the Nifty 50 index.

Other laggards were the Nifty Realty and the Nifty Auto index which ended over 1.5% lower. The Nifty Bank and Nifty Metal fell over 1%, while the FMCG index declined 0.8%.

Broader markets too recovered from the day's low but underperformed the benchmark indices yet again. The midcap index fell 1.5% while the smallcap index ended with losses of 1.7%.

India Volatility Index ended 4.9% lower at 21.1.

Market breadth remained in favour of the laggards. 1,382 stocks on the NSE ended with cuts while 458 managed to buck the trend.