Sensex falls 173 points amid F&O expiry; Nifty slips below 11,700

New Delhi: Markets ended in the negative terrain on Thursday tracking losses in index majors amid expiry of October derivatives contracts.

The BSE Sensex ended 172.61 points or 0.43 percent lower at 39,749.85. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 58.80 points or 0.50 per cent to 11,670.80.

Major losers in the Sensex pack were LT, Titan, ONGC, Axis Bank, HUL, NTPC, M&M, HDFC, Nestle, HDFC Bank, Sun Pharma and ITC, falling ulpto 4.99 percent. On the other hand, major gainers were Asian Paint, Ultrachem, HCL Tech, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank, RIL, TCS, Tech Mahindra and Bajaj Finance, rising upto 2.79 percent.

Bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended on a negative note, while Shanghai was in the positive territory. Equities in Europe were trading higher in early deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 3.15 per cent lower at USD 38.39 per barrel.

The rupee meanwhile continued its downward journey, sliding another 23 paise to close at 74.10 against the US dollar.

In the previous session, Sensex ended 599.64 points or 1.48 per cent lower at 39,922.46, and Nifty tanked 159.80 points or 1.34 per cent to close at 11,729.60

Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,130.98 crore on a net basis on Wednesday.