Stock market today: Nifty50 ends in red; BSE Sensex closes 170 points down

Stock market today: Indian equity benchmark indices, Nifty50 and BSE Sensex, ended lower on Thursday despite early gains, following late selling pressure in financial and metal sectors.The NSE Nifty decreased by 48.10 points or 0.19 per cent to 25,405.30. The BSE Sensex fell by 170.22 points or 0.20 per cent to close at 83,239.47, after reaching a high of 83,850.09 during trading hours.Amongst Sensex companies, losses were led by Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, Trent, State Bank of India, Titan and Tata Consultancy Services.Maruti, Infosys, NTPC, Asian Paints, Eternal and Hindustan Unilever emerged as top gainers."Markets traded volatile on the weekly expiry day and ended marginally lower, continuing the ongoing consolidation phase," Ajit Mishra – SVP, Research, Religare Broking Ltd said.The sectoral performance remained mixed, with auto and pharma showing gains whilst metal and realty sectors declined significantly. Broader market indices reflected similar patterns, ending flat.Asian markets showed mixed results: South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 and Shanghai's SSE Composite increased, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined.European markets showed varied performance. US markets largely finished higher on Wednesday.India's services sector reached a ten-month peak in June, supported by strong international sales growth and increased employment, according to a Thursday survey.The HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index increased to 60.4 in June from May's 58.8, driven by substantial new business orders.For PMI measurements, readings above 50 indicate growth, whilst below 50 suggest contraction. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 1.03 per cent to USD 68.40 per barrel.FIIs sold equities worth Rs 1,561.62 crore on Wednesday, as per exchange data.(Disclaimer: Recommendations and views on the stock market and other asset classes given by experts are their own. These opinions do not represent the views of The Times of India)