Sensex, Nifty Snap Four-day Winning Run

(RTTNews) - Indian shares ended modestly lower on Wednesday, with benchmark indexes Sensex and Nifty snapping their four-day winning run as caution crept in ahead of the September-quarter earnings season.

A stronger dollar and weak cues from global markets triggered profit taking at higher levels as the U.S. government shutdown continued with no progress in the deadlock between the two chambers of the U.S. Congress.

The benchmark BSE Sensex swung between gains and losses before closing down 153.09 points, or 0.19 percent, at 81,773.66.

The broader NSE Nifty index dropped 62.15 points, or 0.25 percent, to 25,046.15 while the BSE mid-cap and small-cap indexes fell 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively. The market breadth was weak on the BSE, with 2,421 shares declining while 1,752 shares rose and 157 shares closed unchanged.

Among the prominent decliners, UltraTech Cement, BEL, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Motors all fell around 2 percent.

Titan Company shares surged 4.4 percent as the watch and jewelry retailer reported an 18 percent increase in Q2 sales.

IT stocks such as Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, TCS and Infosys rallied 1-3 percent due to earnings optimism.

Globally, Asian markets ended mostly lower after Wall Street's main indexes pulled back from record highs overnight on the back of mixed messages from Federal Reserve officials on the pace on interest-rate cuts and concerns about a bubble forming around artificial intelligence.

European stocks were a tad higher in early trade, with banks and energy stocks pacing the gainers.

Crude oil prices rose nearly 1 percent in European trade after a mixed U.S. inventories report.

Gold surged more than 1 percent to hit a new record high above $4,000 an ounce despite a stronger dollar, which surged to a sex-week peak amid risk aversion in markets.

The rally in gold prices was driven by concerns over the U.S. economy, ongoing political turmoil in France, expectations of increased fiscal spending in Japan and continued gold purchases by global central banks.