Equity market benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty ended lower on Thursday due to intense selling in index majors Reliance Industries, L&T and HUL as investors turned cautious ahead of the inflation data announcement.

The 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex declined 236.18 points or 0.29 per cent to settle at 81,289.96. During the day, it dropped 314.5 points or 0.38 per cent to 81,211.64.

The NSE Nifty dropped 93.10 points or 0.38 per cent to 24,548.70.

Among the 30-share Sensex blue-chip firms, NTPC, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, Maruti, Larsen & Toubro, Reliance Industries, Asian Paints and State Bank of India were the biggest laggards.

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Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Adani Ports and Tata Consultancy Services were among the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the green.

European markets were trading on a mixed note. Wall Street ended mostly higher in overnight trade on Wednesday.

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Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹1,012.24 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.30 per cent to $73.74 a barrel.

The 30-share BSE benchmark rose by 16.09 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 81,526.14 on Wednesday. The Nifty advanced 31.75 points or 0.13 per cent to settle at 24,641.80.