Markets end lower on profit booking

Equities ended lower on Wednesday as traders offloaded banks and real estate stocks ahead of August F&O expiry series.

Markets made further inroads into the negative territory during the final hour of trade as selling activity intensified among index heavyweights. While stocks across the sectors bore the brunt of the selling activity, select stocks from the metals, auto and software sectors registered gains. As regards global markets, while the Asian indices closed mixed, the European indices are witnessing a negative trend currently.

The BSE Sensex closed 180 points lower, while the NSE Nifty closed lower by 40 points. The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices also closed in the red, each down 1%. The rupee was trading at 43.8 to the dollar.