Indian equity benchmarks snapped a three-day winning streak to end lower in trade on Wednesday.
Consumer durables advanced the most, while metals and banking sectors were the top losers. The HDFC twins and Adani Enterprises Ltd. dragged the market, whereas ITC Ltd. and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. gained.
European equities retreated as worries over China's economy, sticky inflation and the impasse in U.S. debt-ceiling negotiations continued to weigh on sentiment. LVMH was among the biggest drags on the Stoxx Europe 600, which headed for its largest drop in more than two months.
The MSCI Asia Pacific was set for its lowest close in a week, with China's benchmark stock index erasing all its gains for the year.
U.S. equity futures pointed to another down day on Wall Street, following loss of more than 1% for both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 on Tuesday. Progress was limited in U.S. debt negotiations, bringing the world's biggest economy one step closer to a potential default.
The S&P BSE Sensex closed 208 points down, or 0.34%, at 61,773.78, while the NSE Nifty 50 ended lower by 63 points, or 0.34%, at 18,285.40.
ITC Ltd., Maruti Suzuki India Ltd., Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. and Titan Co. were positively adding to the change in the Nifty.
Adani Enterprises Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., HDFC Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., and Reliance Industries Ltd. were weighing the index down.
The broader markets indices ended higher; the S&P BSE MidCap was up 0.13%, whereas S&P BSE SmallCap was higher by 0.10%.
Nine out of the 19 sectors compiled by BSE declined, while 10 sectors advanced, with S&P BSE Consumer Durables gaining the most.
The market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. About 1,678 stocks rose, 1,798 declined, and 126 remained unchanged on the BSE.
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