Sensex, Nifty Hold Steady Gains; Sugar Stocks Extend Rally

Indian equity benchmarks fell in afternoon trade as banks and autos led the decline, while utilities extended their record run.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped as much as 0.8% at 51,858.21, while NSE Nifty 50 Index slipped 0.8% as well to 15,608.40.

The selloff in the broader market was in line with their larger peers. The S&P BSE MidCap was down 0.9% and S&P BSE SmallCap fell 0.6%. Sixteen of the 19 sector sub-indices compiled by BSE Ltd. fell, led by S&P BSE Telecom. The S&P BSE Utilities was the best performer, up 0.6%.

The market breadth was slightly skewed in favour of the bulls. About 1,603 stocks gained, 1,493 declined and 152 remained unchanged.