The Indian equity benchmarks fell for sixth straight session on Wednesday as investors remained cautious of ongoing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Index heavyweights like Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Consultancy Services and Bajaj Finserv were the top drags on the Sensex.
For most part of the day, benchmarks traded with a positive bias but gave up gains in last hour of trade owing to heightened volatility a day ahead of monthly futures and option expiry. The Sensex fell as much as 624 points from day's highest level and Nifty 50 index dropped to an intraday low of 17,028 after hitting high of 17,221.
The Sensex ended 69 points or 0.12 per cent lower at 57,232 and Nifty 50 index declined 29 points to settle at 17,063.
Traders booked profits in intraday deals as they remained cautious of developing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, analysts said.
Ten of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended higher led by the Nifty Realty index's 3 per cent gain. Nifty Media, PSU Bank and Consumer Durable indices also gained between 0.8-1 per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty IT, Financial Services, Auto and Bank indices ended with a negative bias.
Mid- and small-cap shares outperformed their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.62 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 1 per cent.
ONGC was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 2.4 per cent to close at Rs 161. Hero MotoCorp, NTPC, Larsen & Toubro, JSW Steel, Divi's Labs, Nestle India, Grasim Industries, UPL and ICICI Bank also fell between 1-2 per cent.
On the flipside, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Tata Consumer Products, Maruti Suzuki, Bharat Petroleum, Infosys and Asian Paints were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was positive as 2,201 shares ended higher while 1,166 closed lower on the BSE.
