Market Ends Marginally Lower, Nifty Below 19,800

Sensex and Nifty fail to hold on to opening gains and end with minor cuts following a range-bound trading session as the IT pack drags. Sensex slides 65 points to 66,408, while Nifty sheds 17 points to close at 19,794. Banks and broader markets hold on to gains but end off highs, Nifty Bank rises 82 points to 44,599 and Midcap Index adds 69 points to close at 40,555.

PSU stocks gained the most in today's session, BPCL, Coal India, NTPC and Power Grid are the top gainers on Nifty. Metal and mining stocks surge after Cabinet gives nod for royalty for lithium and rare earth metals, NMDC and Nalco climb as much as 5.5% to become top Midcap gainers.

HDFC AMC reports a rise of 20% in its second-quarter net profit on a year-on-year basis and a nearly 9% rise on a sequential basis, stock ends with minor gains. Ramco Cements continues with the gaining momentum for the second straight day, ending near a 52-week high.

TCS closed with cuts of nearly 2% after the company reported a decline in its Dollar Revenue for the first time in three years. Infosys sheds about 3% and HCLTech about 2% ahead of their second-quarter earnings report. Delta Corp ends more than 1% lower following a flat set of earnings compared to the same period last year.

Market breadth favours advances, advance-decline ratio at 3:2.