An evening walk down Dalal Street

A good recovery in the last hour of trade helped D-Street cut big losses and end August series on a slightly better note. However, the Nifty managed to close below 11,700-mark. For the series, Nifty gained around 5 percent, while the Midcap index ended higher by 7 percent.

A weak rupee weighed on indices through the day, with the Indian currency dropping to a fresh low of 70.8550. Analysts had attributed the fall to rising crude oil prices and month-end dollar buying by oil companies to pay these off.

Among sectors, FMCG, metals and pharma along with PSU banks were the top gainers, while auto, energy and Bank Nifty were the big laggards. In the broader markets, the Nifty Midcap index ended over one-fifth of a percent higher.

A sharp surge in stocks such as ICICI Bank, ITC, helped the market stay afloat, while weakness in RIL dragged the benchmark index.

D-Street had a flat start on Thursday morning, with bulls unable to cash in on good global cues. Traders could have been wary of weak Indian currency as well. But a selloff in banks dragged indices lower in the afternoon session, before staging a recovery in the last hour.

At the close of market hours, the Sensex ended lower by 32.83 points or 0.08% at 38690.10, while the Nifty was down 12.20 points or 0.10% at 11679.70. The market breadth was positive as 1,441 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,255 shares, while 169 shares were unchanged.

Sun Pharma and Tata Steel were the top gainers, while Maruti Suzuki, IndusInd Bank, Eicher Motors and Bajaj Finance have lost the most.