Markets pare early gains; Sensex sheds 241 points

Equity benchmarks pared early gains and ended lower for the third straight session on Thursday, defying largely positive global market trends, amid the release of minutes of the RBI's MPC meeting.

Despite a positive beginning, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex failed to carry forward the gains and declined 241.02 points or 0.39 per cent to finish at 60,826.22.

During the day, it tumbled 430 points or 0.70 per cent to 60,637.24.

The broader NSE Nifty dropped 71.75 points or 0.39 per cent to settle at 18,127.35.

From the Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Axis Bank and NTPC were among the major laggards.

UltraTech Cement, Infosys, Asian Paints, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Sun Pharma and Bharti Airtel were the winners.

"Positive sentiments from the global markets failed to bolster optimism in the domestic indices.

"The losses were extended in domestic equities owing to the hawkish comments from the RBI's MPC minutes, which suggested that a premature pause in rate tightening would be a 'costly policy error at this juncture'," said Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services.

A premature pause in rate hikes at this juncture could be a costly policy error as the battle against inflation is not over, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das opined while voting for a 35 basis points raise in the key lending rate earlier in the month, as per minutes of the MPC meeting released on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong ended in the green, while Shanghai settled lower.

International oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.99 per cent to $83.01 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 1,119.11 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.