New Delhi: On Monday, Indian equity indexes finished lower, though off their early lows. The domestic indices followed the global market, which was in a bearish mood as investors expected the Federal Reserve's rate hike this week. The Federal Reserve of the United States is likely to raise interest rates by 50 basis points on Wednesday.

The 30-share BSE Sensex sank 85 points, or 0.15 percent, to 56,976, while the broader NSE Nifty fell 33 points, or 0.20 percent, to 17,069. During intraday trading, both indexes lost more than 1 percent. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.59 percent, while the small-cap index fell 1.34 percent, putting a downward trend on mid- and small-cap stocks.

Seven of the National Stock Exchange's 15 sector indices ended the day in the red. The Nifty Consumer Durables, Nifty IT, and Nifty Auto sub-indices all underperformed the index, sliding 2.02%, 1.53%, and 1.26 percent, respectively.

Eicher Motors was the highest Nifty loser, falling 3.43 percent to 2,540 rupees. Among the laggards were Apollo Hospitals, Titan, Bajaj Auto, and Wipro. Titan, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Maruti, Asian Paints, L&T, SBI, and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top losers on the 30-share BSE index. 

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, NTPC, PowerGrid, Tata Steel, ITC, HDFC finance,  HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle India, and Bharti Airtel, all ended the day in green. On the BSE, the overall market breadth was modest, with 1,244 shares rising and 2,218 falling.

Indian markets will remain closed  on Tuesday due to Id-Ul-Fitr.

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