Sensex falls by 167 points after volatile session, auto stocks drag

Equity benchmark indices reversed morning gains to end lower on Thursday ahead of the macroeconomic data as well as a key meeting of the European Central Bank that could begin another wave of monetary easing by global central banks.

The BSE S & P Sensex closed 167 points or 0.45 per cent lower at 37,104 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 55 points to 10,981. Most sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) were in the red.

Nifty auto skidded by 1.8 per cent after the country's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India contradicted Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, saying that millennials opting for cab-hailing apps Ola and Uber may not be a big factor for the current slowdown in car sales.

Similarly, Nifty FMCG, IT, media, metal, and realty too closed with a negative bias.

Among stocks, Yes Bank was a top loser and wiped out Wednesday's gains by 4.68 per cent to close at Rs 68.25 per share. Axis Bank also lost by 2.8 per cent.

Auto stocks were hit across the board with Tata Motors losing by 3.8 per cent, Maruti by 3 per cent and Eicher Motors by 2.3 per cent. Among the other prominent losers were JSW Steel, Zee Entertainment, GAIL, Bharti Airtel and UPL.

However, Indiabulls Housing Finance, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, and Sun Pharma showed marginal gains.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks hit a six-week high with somewhat easing of US-China trade frictions and expectations that the European Central Bank will begin another wave of monetary easing by global central banks.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 0.4 per cent while Japan's Nikkei stock index rose by 0.75 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI by 0.84 per cent.

Chinese stocks rose after US President Donald Trump agreed to delay an additional increase in tariffs on Chinese goods by two weeks at the request of China's Vice Premier Liu He as a gesture of goodwill.