Markets@Moneycontrol | Equities continue to fall this week, Nifty gives up 11,250

Equity benchmarks ended a volatile trading day on a negative note as consumer names as well as banks weighed. The Nifty ended below 11,250-mark, while the Sensex shed a little over 160 points. Rupee heading towards its low points also dented sentiment on the market.

A selloff among major sectors such as banks, automobiles, and FMCG and a larger selling pressure among midcaps weighed on the indices. The Nifty Midcap index ended around a percent lower.

The day began on a good note even as investors looked to shrug off concerns on the trade war front. Late on Tuesday, China also countered US’ import tariffs with fresh set of tariffs on USD 60 billion worth of US goods and services. But a recovery in the rupee from Tuesday’s record low close helped the market trade higher for the first couple of hours. Banks too saw some recovery as compared to Tuesday’s fall and helped indices trade in the green.

But further pressure from consumer names along with banks weighed on the indices. Index heavyweights such as HDFC twins along with Reliance Industries and Bajaj Finserv negatively impacted benchmarks.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex closed lower by 169.45 points or 0.45% at 37121.22, while the Nifty was down 44.50 points or 0.39% at 11234.40. The market breadth is negative as 978 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,667 shares, while 186 shares were unchanged.

Coal India, ONGC, and BPCL were the top gainers while Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, and Bajaj Finserv lost the most.