Sensex ends 62 pts lower, Nifty slips to 24,635 as market extends losses to 7th session in a row

Domestic equity benchmarks suffered minor losses on Monday, continuing to fall for the seventh session in a row, amid selling pressure in stocks like ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and L&T, though gains in HDFC Bank and SBI lent some support. Both headline indices inched 0.1 per cent lower for the day. The latest fall added to the indices' fall of nearly 3.0 per cent each last week, as investors stared at the Trump 2.0 administration's moves to significantly hike in H-1B visa fees and to improve a 100 per cent duty on branded drugs.

Investors now await a key rate decision due this week and the onset of the domestic earnings season next week for cues.

The Sensex lost 61.5 points to end at 80,364.9 while the Nifty50 settled at 24,634.9, down 19.8 points from the previous close.

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Top Nifty 50 gainers and losers

Maruti Suzuki, Axis Bank, Dr Reddy's Labs, HDFC Life and Eicher Motors -- closing between 1.0 per cent and 1.8 per cent lower -- fell the most among the 23 laggards in the Nifty50 basket.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Hindalco, SBI and Wipro -- closing between 1.6 per cent and 3.1 per cent higher -- were the top gainers in the 50-blue-chip index.

Top Sensex movers | ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, L&T

Among index heavyweights, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, L&T and Bharti Airtel were the biggest contributors to the losses in both headline indices, whereas gains in stocks like HDFC Bank and SBI lent some support.

All eyes on RBI rate decision on October 1

The RBI is expected to leave the repo rate -- or the key interest rate at which it lends short-term funds to commercial banks -- unchanged on Wednesday, according to two-thirds of the economists polled by Zee Business.

Among broader indices, the Nifty Midcap rose 0.3 per cent while the Nifty Smallcap 100 declined 0.1 per cent.

Overall market breadth favoured the bears, as four stocks rose for every five falling scrips on BSE.