The benchmark Sensex today fell 59.23 points to end at 27,026.70, its second straight session of decline after logging new highs earlier this week, due to losses in blue-chips, including HDFC, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors, amid a weak global trend.

Domestic stock markets opened on a better note with the 30-share BSE index Sensex touching the day’s high of 27,178.80 points in early trade. It later slipped below the 27,000-mark and touched the day’s low of 26,920.56 before ending at 27,026.70, registering a drop of 59.23 points or 0.22 per cent.

Among Sensex 30 components, 17 stocks ended in the negative zone, while 13 closed higher.

On Thursday, the Sensex had lost 54.01 points. It had hit a life high of 27,225.85 and closed at a record peak of 27,139.94 on Wednesday.

Brokers said emergence of selling in stocks that had recently witnessed gains and a weak trend in global markets, led to the fall in major indices today.

The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also shed 9.1 points or 0.11 per cent to end at 8,086.85. During the session, the Nifty shuttled between 8,122.70 and 8,049.85.

Yesterday, it had fallen by 18.65 points.

Sectoral indices

Among the sectoral indices, the BSE Auto index dropped 0.65 per cent, followed by FMCG 0.32 per cent and Banking 0.3 per cent.

On the other hand, the BSE Realty index surged 1.15 per cent, followed by Capital Goods 0.86 per cent, Metal 0.69 per cent and IT 0.51 per cent, among others.

The BSE Small-cap index advanced 1.25 per cent and Mid-cap index added 0.56 per cent, indicating continued retail investor interest.

Asian, European markets

Asian shares and the euro slipped on Friday after the European Central Bank unveiled fresh measures. Investors await the release of US jobs data later on Friday, which could have a bearing on Fed policy.

Europe’s main stock markets also dipped in late morning trade today after data showed the 18-nation euro zone economy stagnated in the second quarter with zero growth.

The euro was deep in the red on Friday, having suffered its steepest fall in three years after the European Central Bank stunned markets by cutting interest rates and embarking on a trillion-euro asset-buying binge.

The aggressive shift sent short-term bond yields into negative territory in Germany, France, the Netherlands and Austria, giving investors an overwhelming incentive to sell euros for higher-yielding assets elsewhere.

That stood in stark contrast to the United States, where upbeat data only reinforced the case for the Federal Reserve to wind down its stimulus, driving the dollar higher and sideswiping oil and gold in the process.

After surging to a 6-1/2 month high on Thursday, European share markets saw some minor profit taking as the US payrolls report loomed large later in the session. London's FTSE 100, the DAX in Frankfurt and CAC 40 in Paris were all around 0.1-0.2 per cent lower but this week's gains - the fourth in a row - took the pan-regional FTSEurofirst 300 index's rise since mid August to over 8 per cent.

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