Equity benchmark indices bounced between gains and losses on Thursday but ended marginally lower due to profit booking in select stocks.
The BSE S&P Sensex wound up 59 points or 0.15 per cent lower at 38,310 while the Nifty 50 closed 8 points or 0.07 per cent down at 11,300.
Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed Nifty metal gaining by 1.2 per cent and realty by 1 per cent. But Nifty pharma was down by 0.9 per cent and PSU bank by 0.8 per cent.
Among stocks, Sun Pharma closed 2.1 per cent lower at Rs 521 per share while Eicher Motors cracked by 2 per cent to Rs 21,660.05. Bharti Airtel too slipped by 2 per cent to Rs 536.50 per unit.
The other prominent losers were HDFC Life, ITC, GAIL, State Bank of India and IndusInd Bank.
However, Tata Motors zoomed ahead by 4.6 per cent to close at Rs 131.10 per share. Larsen & Toubro was up by 4.4 per cent, Hindalco by 4.2 per cent, Titan by 3.9 per cent, Ad Ports by 2 per cent and Hero MotoCorp by 1.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, Asia's stock markets ruled higher after steady virus figures and a surprising jump in US inflation boosted sentiment.
Gains in semiconductor makers drove Japan's Nikkei 1.78 per cent higher to a six-month peak. South Korea's Kospi ticked up by 0.21 per cent but Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped by 0.05 per cent.
( With inputs from ANI )