Markets end lower; Airtel shares tank 8%

New Delhi: Markets extended losses for the fifth straight session on Wednesday despite positive global cues.

The BSE index pared all intra-day gains to end 65.66 points or 0.17 percent lower at 37,668.42. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 21.80 points or 0.20 per cent to close at 11,131.85.

Bharti Airtel was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking around 8 percent. Other losers in the Sensex pack were Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, PowerGrid, ONGC, TCS, Baja Finance, Sun Pharma, SBI, Tech Mahindra and ITC, falling upto 3.46 percent. On the other hand, major gainers were Axis Bank, HUL, Infosys, HDFC Bank, Nestle, Titan, Maruti, RIL, Asian Paint, LT, Kotak Bank and Bajaj Auto, rising upto 1.82 percent.

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Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended with gains, while Tokyo closed in the red. Stock exchanges in Europe were trading significantly higher in early deals. International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.89 per cent higher at USD 42.09 per barrel.

Meanwhile, the rupee inched up 1 paisa to close at 73.57 against the US dollar.