Sensex ends 174 points lower

FMCG major ITC and private banking major ICICI Bank were the top Sensex losers

Benchmark share indices ended lower, amid weak European cues, with select index heavyweights leading the decline.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended down 174 points at 25,406 and Nifty50 ended down 44 points at 7,741.

ITC, Tata Motors and ICICI Bank contributed the most to the Sensex decline.

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(updated at 2:45pm
Benchmark share indices came off their day's low as gains in Reliance Industries helped offset some of the losses.

At 2:45pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 147 points at 25,434 and the Nifty50 was down 40 points at 7,747.

Index heavyweight Reliance Industries was up 2.2% while IT major TCS was up 1%. Meanwhile, ITC and ICICI Bank continued to be the top contributors to the decline.

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(Updated at 2:10pm)

Markets extended losses in late noon trades, amid weak European cues and weak Dow futures, with ICICI Bank and ITC leading the decline.

At 2:10pm, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 208 points at 25,372 and the Nifty50 was down 62 points at 7,726.

Growth in India's services firms rose at its fastest pace in 10 months in December as demand picked up, a business survey showed today.

The Nikkei/Markit Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) surged to 53.6 in December from November's 50.1, marking a sixth month above the 50-level that separates growth from contraction.

GLOBAL MARKETS

European shares were down over 1% each weighed down by commodity stocks after the devaluation of the Chinese yuan raised growth concerns in the world's second largest economy while the further slide in Dow futures also dampened sentiment. CAC-40, DAX and FTSE-100 were down 1% each.

Asian markets were mixed with Chinese stocks rebounding after losses in the previous three sessions. The Shanghai ended up 2.2% while Nikkei ended down 1%.

STOCKS IN FOCUS

BSE Oil & Gas index was the top gainer along with Metal and Power indices while FMCG index was the top loser.

RIL was up 1.7%. According to Karvy Stock Broking report, RIL is expected to maintain profitability in its core business with a capex that increases the operational efficiency across the refining & petrochemicals business, while the new businesses like the Reliance Jio are likely to trigger the next level of growth and boost revenues. The stock has soared 3%

Telecom stocks were trading mixed with Bharti Airtel up 1.3% while RCom and Idea Cellular were down 0.5% each. The Delhi High Court is likely to pronounce its order on compensation for call drops later today. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has asked operators to pay a compensation of Re one for every call drop, maximum three calls per day per mobile user, starting January 1.

Metal stocks witnessed profit taking after sharp gains in the previous session. Tata Steel which had surged over 6.5% in the previous trade was down 1.5% while Hindalco, Vedanta and Hindustan Zinc were down 1.5%-2.8% each.

Tata Motors is down 1%. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said its US sales rose 30% to 9,638 units in December 2015 over December 2014. Land Rover sales rose 47% to 8,441 units in December 2015 over December 2014. Jaguar sales fell 29% to 1,197 units in December 2015 over December 2014.