Sensex down 189.87 points at 62,432.37; Nifty settles at 18,486 to end the day

Despite gains for pharma, real estate and media sectors, Sensex ended the day 189.87 points lower at 62,432.37. Nifty also dropped 0.26 per cent to hit 18,485.90 points at closing bell.

The domestic exchanges ended the day on a subdued note despite positive global sentiment after the US house passed its debt ceiling bill.

Coal India was among the worst losers after the government announced an offer for sale to divest, and was joined by Bharti Airtel, SBI Life Insurance and HDFC Life in the red zone.

According to Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities, “Markets were sluggish with a negative bias as concerns over the delay in US debt ceiling bill and decline in China’s factory activity prompted investors to trim exposure in banking and metal stocks. The strong Q4 GDP numbers failed to improve sentiment as the focus shifts to changes in global arena. Technically, on daily charts the Nifty has formed a bearish candle and has also formed a lower top formation on intraday charts which is broadly negative. For the traders, as long as the index is trading below 18575, the weak sentiment is likely to continue."

On the other hand Bajaj Auto and Tata Motors led the pack of gainers, alongside Asian Paints and Apollo Hospitals.

Although India's growth beat estimates, global cues remained mixed as the world's second largest economy China delivered poor numbers.

Reports of US Federal Reserve officials indicating that rate hikes will remain stable, also had an impact on Indian as well as global indices.

As the Rupee gained strength against the dollar, crude prices didn't register a significant change.