Mumbai: The benchmark Sensex on Friday fell 59.23 points to end at 27,026.70, its second straight session of decline after logging new highs earlier this week, on losses in bluechips including HDFC, ICICI Bank, Hero MotoCorp and Tata Motors amid a weak global trend.
Domestic stock markets opened on a better note with the 30-scrip BSE Sensex touching the day's high of 27,178.80 points in early trade. It later slipped below the 27,000-mark and touched day's low of 26,920.56 before ending at 27,026.70, registering a drop of 59.23 points or 0.22 percent.
Among Sensex 30 components, 17 stocks ended in the negative zone, while 13 closed higher.
On Thursday, the Sensex had lost 54.01 points. It had hit life high of 27,225.85 and closed at record peak of 27,139.94 both on Wednesday.
Brokers said emergence of selling in stocks that had recently witnessed gains and a weak trend in global markets, led to the fall in major indices today.
The 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also shed 9.10 points, or 0.11 percent, to end at 8,086.85. During the session, the Nifty shuttled between 8,122.70 and 8,049.85. Yesterday, it had fallen by 18.65 points.
Among the sectoral indices, the BSE Auto index dropped 0.65 percent, followed by FMCG 0.32 percent and Banking index lost 0.30 percent.
On the other hand, the BSE Realty index surged 1.15 percent, followed by Capital Goods index 0.86 percent, Metal index 0.69 percent and IT index 0.51 percent, among others.
The BSE Small-cap index advanced 1.25 percent and Mid-cap index added 0.56 percent, indicating continued retail investor interest.
Asian shares and the euro slipped Friday after European Central Bank unveiled fresh measures. Eyes are now on the release of US jobs data later on Friday, which could have a bearing on Fed policy.
Europe's main stock markets also dipped in late morning trades today after data showed the 18-nation eurozone economy stagnated in the second quarter with zero growth.
