Closing Bell: Sensex ends 40 points lower at 84,234; Nifty holds above 25,950

Equity benchmarks ended mixed on Wednesday with the BSE Sensex closing 40.28 points lower at 84,233.64, down 0.05 per cent, while the Nifty 50 rose 18.70 points to settle at 25,953.85, up 0.07 per cent.

Among sectoral movers, banking stocks showed a mixed trend. State Bank of India gained 3.31 per cent, ICICI Bank rose 0.29 per cent, while HDFC Bank slipped 0.65 per cent and Axis Bank fell 0.54 per cent.

Auto stocks were mostly higher, with Maruti Suzuki India up 1.79 per cent and Mahindra & Mahindra marginally higher by 0.05 per cent.

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IT counters faced selling pressure as Tata Consultancy Services dropped 2.46 per cent, Infosys fell 1.85 per cent, HCL Technologies declined 1.64 per cent, and Tech Mahindra slipped 0.73 per cent.

Consumer goods stocks were largely flat, with Hindustan Unilever up 0.12 per cent and ITC down 0.93 per cent.

Energy and infrastructure shares ended mixed. NTPC added 0.11 per cent, Power Grid Corporation of India declined 0.10 per cent, and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell 0.32 per cent.

Metals and cement stocks were lower, with Tata Steel down 0.24 per cent and UltraTech Cement down 0.53 per cent.