Sensex, Nifty close lower; IT stocks biggest losers

Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty retreated from record levels and closed lower in a volatile trade on Thursday due to profit-taking in financials, IT and oil shares after a two-day rally and negative trends in the US and European markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 284.26 points or 0.45 per cent to settle at 63,238.89. The BSE benchmark hit an intra-day all-time peak of 63,601.71 in initial deals. However, the benchmark index faced volatile trends and declined 322.52 points or 0.50 per cent to a low of 63,200.63 during the day.

The NSE Nifty closed lower by 85.60 points or 0.45 per cent to end at 18,771.25.

From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Power Grid, NTPC, Infosys, Nestle, Reliance Industries and UltraTech Cement were the biggest laggards.

Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank and Mahindra & Mahindra were among the major gainers.