Indian equity indices ended lower for the fourth consecutive session on September 3, giving up early gains as buying in media, realty and banking stocks was outweighed by selling in auto, IT and pharma names.


The markets opened higher amid positive global cues and softer crude oil prices, with the Nifty reclaiming the 24,000 mark in early trade. However, gains failed to sustain as the session progressed, with profit-taking dragging the index below 23,900 after the Closing Auction Session (CAS).

At close, the Sensex was down 417.49 points or 0.55 percent at 76,152.86, and the Nifty was down 41 points or 0.17 percent at 23,873.45.

The broader market outperformed the main indices with Nifty midcap index rising 0.37 percent and smallcap index advancing 1.2 percent.

Top gainers on Nifty were Adani Ports, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharat Electronics, Asian Paints, while losers were Tech Mahindra, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Cipla and M&M.

On the sectoral front auto, FMCG, IT and Pharma down 0.5% each, while Realty index gained 2.5%, Media index up 1.7%, and PSU Bank and Private Bank rose 0.5% each.

More than 180 stocks touched 52-week high including Capri Global, Welspun Corp, RBL Bank, Caplin Labs, Solar Industries, PTC Industries, Sai Life Sciences, Welspun Living, IFCI, among others.

Among individual stocks, Autoline Industries shares surged 10% on Rs 100 crore order from Tata Motors Passenger Vehicle, while Inox Wind advanced 5% after securing a 100 MW turnkey order from Indian Oil Corporation.

Page Industries slipped 1.5% after receiving an AED 113.5 million notice from the Dubai Court. Welspun Corp gained over 4% after Jefferies initiated a 'Buy' call with a Rs 3,250 target, while Godrej Consumer shares slipped 3% after CLSA upgraded to Underperform and cut target to Rs 743.

Hexaware Technologies fell 2.3% following the CEO’s resignation, while HUDCO gained 1.4% after signing an MoU with the Bihar government.