New Delhi, Aug 29 : Markets closed in the red on Thursday dragged by heavy selling in banking and financial stocks ahead of the expiry of August derivatives amid weak global cues.
The BSE Sensex fell 382.91 points or 1.02 percent to 37,068.93 while the NSE Nifty dropped 97.80 points or 0.89 percent to close at 10,948.30.
Major losers in the Sensex pack were Yes Bank, SBI, HDFC, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, ITC, Tata Motors, M&M, RIL, IndusInd Bank and HDFC Bank, falling upto 3.61 percent. On the other hand, shares of Sun Pharma, Vedanta, NTPC, ONGC, Asian Paint, Infosys, Maruti, Tech Mahindra and HUL ended in green, rising upto 5.31 percent.
Foreign portfolio investors sold shares worth a net of Rs 935.27 crore while domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 359.32 crore, provisional data showed.
Markets had reacted positively by posting an upward rally for three days since last Friday after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced slew of measures to revive economic growth that included the most awaited rolled back of the enhanced surcharge on foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). This was followed by announcement by the RBI that it will transfer Rs 1.76 lakh crore surplus to the government.
However, sentiments turned negative on Wednesday following decline in sectoral indices and cues from global markets. In the previous session on Wednesday the BSE Sensex fell 189.43 points or 0.50 percent to 37,451.84 while the NSE Nifty closed 60.50 points or 0.54 percent to 11,046.10.