Sensex slips 81 points; Nifty holds 14,100 level

Equity benchmark Sensex slipped 81 points on Thursday, weighed by selling in IT, banks and consumption stocks despite a firm trend in global markets.

The 30-share BSE index ended 80.74 points or 0.17 per cent lower at 48,093.32. The broader NSE Nifty fell 8.90 points or 0.06 per cent to 14,137.35.

Titan was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 2 per cent, followed by Nestle India, HUL, HCL Tech, Infosys, ITC and Kotak Bank.

On the other hand, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv and L&T were among the gainers.

"After the US Democrats won the Georgia Senate, global cues were positive in morning trade. Afternoon trade, however, saw profit-taking in FMCG stocks despite which we saw a close above 48K led by financials and metals," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note, while Hong Kong was in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were largely trading with gains in early deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.02 per cent lower at $54.29 per barrel.