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.
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.
Business confidence remained positive in August and was driven by upbeat forecasts of sales, an expected improvement in demand and promotional activities
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.
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.
A reading below 50 means contraction in the sector.
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.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a one below this level means contraction.
The survey noted that advertising campaigns supported the increase in new work growth in the sector amid competitive pressures.
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.
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.
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.
However, predictions that economic conditions will normalise after the elections underpinned optimism regarding the outlook and supported a stronger upturn in employment.
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.
With factory production, activities across the private sector saw the biggest drop in over three years
A reading above 50 represents expansion while one below 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.
On the employment front, services employment was unchanged in April.
The 50-issue NSE Nifty too cracked below the 10,400-mark and hit a low of 10,323.90 before finishing 99.50 points, or 0.95 per cent down at 10,358.85.
The Nikkei India Services PMI posted above the critical 50.0 level, which separates growth from contraction, for the fourth month running in May.
Currency scarcity weighed on manufacturing performance where growth of new work flows slowed
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.
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.
A reading below 50 means contraction in the sector.
It was the second straight week of gains for the benchmarks.
India's services industry expanded at its fastest pace in eight months in October as new business rose with discounting probably stoking demand, a survey showed on Wednesday.
The broader NSE Nifty rose nearly 124 points to settle just below the psychological 11,000 level.
A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding, while a reading below 50 means contraction.
The Sensex has now lost 878.32 points in six sessions -- its longest string of losses in six months.
Investors went looking for bargain in banking, oil and gas and auto stocks.
Services growth at 5-month low in Nov as confidence slumps.
According to Japanese financial services major Nomura, India's manufacturing PMI remained in the expansion zone but suggested some consolidation after the rapid ramp up of activity in December.
'We expect the Reserve Bank of India to deliver a 25 bps rate cut in April to support growth.'
Auto and realty shares were among the top Sensex gainers.
This is the ninth consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point-mark.
The higher rate cut by RBI is positive for rate-sensitive sectors in the medium to long term.
The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 47.9 in July, down from 50.9 in June, its lowest mark since February 2009, and highlighted the first deterioration in business conditions in 2017 so far.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances