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.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion while a one below this level means contraction.
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.
Service providers' confidence with regard to the 12-month outlook for business activity remained positive.
Business confidence remained positive in August and was driven by upbeat forecasts of sales, an expected improvement in demand and promotional activities
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 below 50 means contraction in the sector.
A reading above 50 represents expansion while one below means contraction.
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.
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 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.
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 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 survey noted that advertising campaigns supported the increase in new work growth in the sector amid competitive pressures.
The services sector had slipped into contraction in July as confusion caused by the GST rollout triggered a dip in new business orders.
On the employment front, services employment was unchanged in April.
While manufacturing firms cut jobs for the first time in 20 months to sharply reduce costs, services providers continued their hiring spree.
With factory production, activities across the private sector saw the biggest drop in over three years
The index went below the crucial 50 mark.
Currency scarcity weighed on manufacturing performance where growth of new work flows slowed
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 Nikkei India Services PMI posted above the critical 50.0 level, which separates growth from contraction, for the fourth month running in May.
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.
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.
Nikkei 225 index hit the 40,000 mark for the first time ever on Monday, continuing its bull-run that saw the index reclaim its 1989 peak of 34,000 levels in February. as global investors latched on to Japan's biggest companies on improving shareholder returns, the weaker yen and booming corporate profits. Analysts remain bullish on Japan, mostly aided by gains in technology shares. Adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a note by Morgan Stanley, is likely to benefit Japanese companies, which is almost at par with the US-based companies.
It was the second straight week of gains for the benchmarks.
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.
Services growth at 5-month low in Nov as confidence slumps.
The broader NSE Nifty rose nearly 124 points to settle just below the psychological 11,000 level.
Investors indulged in profit booking at attractive and higher valuations
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.
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.
This is the ninth consecutive month that the manufacturing PMI remained above the 50-point-mark.
Auto and realty shares were among the top Sensex gainers.
'We expect the Reserve Bank of India to deliver a 25 bps rate cut in April to support growth.'
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