Sensex ends 81 points lower; Nifty holds 18,000 level

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex declined by 81 points on Wednesday due to losses in HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and HUL amid a weak trend in global markets.

The 30-share index ended 80.63 points or 0.13 per cent lower at 60,352.82. Similarly, Nifty fell 27.05 points or 0.15 per cent to 18,017.20.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, HUL, Asian Paints, Titan and SBI.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries and ITC were among the gainers.

"Broadly, domestic market continued to trade negative after disappointing opening as inflation worries affected the global markets,? said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

However, he said the market trend was mixed on stock-to-stock basis.

China's CPI rose 1.5 per cent YoY, while the producer price index rose by 13.5 per cent YoY owing to imported inflation and domestic supply shortages, Nair noted, adding that global investors are awaiting the release of the US inflation data due later today, which is expected to continue at peak levels.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul ended with losses, while Hong Kong was positive. Major indices in Europe were largely trading with gains in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was flat at USD 84.78 per barrel.