Sensex ends lower by 62 pts; Airtel biggest loser at 3.93pc

The 30-share index resumed lower and hovered in a narrow range of 18,670.48 to 18,573.18 points before closing at 18,632.17 points, a loss of 62.24 points or 0.33 per cent.

The NSE 50-share Nifty also ended lower by 10.45 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 5,663.45 points.

Brokers said market witnessed alternate bouts of buying and selling ahead of expiry of September contract tomorrow.

They said the sentiment was also dampened by weak global stock markets after the Federal Reserve said the third round of bond buying may fail to stimulate economic growth.

Front-line stocks Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Tata Motors, HDFC, Larsen & Toubro, Coal India, ONGC, TCS and Infosys suffered losses up to 4 per cent. Bharti Airtel was the biggest loser at 3.93 per cent, followed by Coal India at 2.81 per cent and Hindalco at 2.22 per cent.

Bucking the trend, Cipla rose by 2.66 per cent, Hero MotoCorp by 1.59 per cent, SBI by 1.41 per cent, ITC by 1.04 per cent, Wipro by 0.70 per cent and RIL by 0.51 per cent.

Shares of IFCI lost 5.76 per cent at close, after losing 19 per cent at the outset after market regulator SEBI yesterday approved government raising its stake in the firm without triggering an open offer.

The metal sector index suffered the most by losing 1.17 per cent to 10,439.32 on poor cues from London Metal Exchange.

Asian stocks ended lower with sharp losses in Japan's Nikkei Average as many Japanese firms started to trade without rights to the latest dividend payouts. Key benchmark indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan dropped by between 0.55 per cent and 2.03 per cent.

European shares were also trading lower as borrowing coast surged in Spain on concerns over Catalonia region's future. Key benchmark indices in France, Germany and London declined between 0.97 per cent and 1.84 per cent. (More)