Reliance Industries cracked 4.42 per cent, while ITC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, InterGlobe Aviation, and HDFC Bank were also among the laggards. However, ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Hindustan Unilever, and State Bank of India were among the gainers.
Market sentiment is likely to remain cautious as investors position themselves for the upcoming Union Budget and the US Fed's interest rate decision, where expectations are muted.
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which tracks services sector firms on a monthly basis, stood at 48.7 in January, as against 46.8 in December 2016.
Benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty closed lower in a highly volatile trade on Thursday amid relentless foreign fund outflows and selling in blue-chip ICICI Bank. Falling for the second day in a row, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 148.14 points or 0.18 per cent to settle at 83,311.01.
The headline seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Composite PMI Output Index, that maps both the manufacturing and services sectors, rose from 53.3 in June to 54.1 in July.
While manufacturing firms cut jobs for the first time in 20 months to sharply reduce costs, services providers continued their hiring spree.
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks the services sector firms on a monthly basis, stood at 50.3 in February, up from 48.7 registered in January.
Among the Sensex firms, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Adani Ports, Trent, State Bank of India, Titan and Tata Consultancy Services were the laggards. However, Maruti, Infosys, NTPC, Asian Paints, Eternal and Hindustan Unilever were among the biggest gainers.
On the job front, Indian service providers continued to add to their payrolls and the sector witnessed the second-strongest increase in employment since March 2011.
The survey noted that advertising campaigns supported the increase in new work growth in the sector amid competitive pressures.
The Nikkei India Services PMI posted above the critical 50.0 level, which separates growth from contraction, for the fourth month running in May.
However, predictions that economic conditions will normalise after the elections underpinned optimism regarding the outlook and supported a stronger upturn in employment.
The seasonally adjusted Nikkei India Services Business Activity Index fell to 50.2 in May, from 51.0 in April, pointing to the slowest growth rate in the current 12-month stretch of expansion.
Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India, Maruti, Tata Motors, ITC, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries were also among the gainers. Nestle, NTPC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and Titan were among the laggards.
With factory production, activities across the private sector saw the biggest drop in over three years
The improvement in business conditions promoted job creation, while confidence towards the year-ahead outlook for activity was at a four-month high during March.
Currency scarcity weighed on manufacturing performance where growth of new work flows slowed
The Nikkei India Services Purchasing Managers' Index, which tracks services sector companies on a monthly basis, stood at 52 in September, down from August's 43-month high of 54.7, pointing to a slower and moderate rate of expansion.
Business confidence remained positive in August and was driven by upbeat forecasts of sales, an expected improvement in demand and promotional activities
A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a one below this level means contraction.
A reading below 50 means contraction in the sector.
The services sector had slipped into contraction in July as confusion caused by the GST rollout triggered a dip in new business orders.
Service providers' confidence with regard to the 12-month outlook for business activity remained positive.
On the employment front, services employment was unchanged in April.
A reading above 50 represents expansion while one below means contraction.
A reading below 50 means contraction in the sector.
A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 means contraction.
Manufacturing production growth eased in May, which combined with the slowdown in services resulted in a weaker increase in private sector output, the survey said.
The index went below the crucial 50 mark.
In the Sensex pack, HCLTech rose the maximum by 3.12 per cent, followed by ITC which gained 2.73 per cent and M&M went up 2.61 per cent. TCS climbed 2.44 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Wipro, L&T and Maruti were among the other major gainers.
A reading above 50 denotes expansion while one below means contraction.
Sluggish rise in new business inflows and a cautious approach to costs reportedly led Indian manufacturers to shed jobs in September.
Regarding employment, the manufacturing sector hiring remained broadly unchanged.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing PMI dipped from 50.3 in November to 49.1 in December.
The biggest losers in the Sensex pack were Vedanta, Tata Steel, M&M, Tata Motors, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Coal India -- falling up to 4.48 per cent.
It was the second straight week of gains for the benchmarks.
Sentiments turned somewhat weak towards the middle of the session as profit-booking emerged as investors turned cautious on disappointing quarterly earnings by some bluechip companies
BSE Bankex and Telecom indices led the fall.
Supported by greater demand from both domestic and external markets, total new business rose at the fastest pace since March
Input prices rose at their fastest rate in 14 months but manufacturers absorbed much of the increase
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances