Indian equities after initial recovery ended on a weak note led by losses in the BFSI stocks. Nifty at the close ended lower by 0.26 per cent or 63.05 points at 23,992.55, while the Sensex ended down by 0.21 per cent or 166.33 points at 78.593.07.  Meanwhile, Bank Nifty and broader markets registered still higher losses, with Nifty Midcap 100 settling with a cut of 0.61 per cent. 

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After the previous day's sharp spike in the volatility index-India VIX today registered sharp decline. 

Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services said the sharp decline is largely in response to the recovery in equities seen early in the day following the global rout yesterday. But the drop in VIX is not seen sustaining and the pull back above 18 reflects that Indian market remains sensitive and vulnerable as global events unravel with Nifty just having turned from a 10 period long stretch of month on month peaks. Sectorally, after initial across-the-board buying, sectors including auto, BFSI, pharma, consumer durable and oil & gas ended in the red.

From the Nifty pack, top gainers included stocks like Britannia, JSW Steel, Tech Mahindra, L&T and LTIMindtree, while laggards included stocks such as HDFC Life, SBI Life Insurance, BPCL, Shriram Finance and SBI werre among the top laggards.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services on market's performance today said the domestic market tried to rebound mirroring the Asian markets. However, momentum was short-lived and closed below the threshold level of 24,000. Investors are watching the appreciating Yen, weak US economic data, and rising geopolitical tensions.

They are now exercising caution and shifting towards defensive sectors such as FMCG, IT, and pharma. Nonetheless, the market is looking forward to the decline of crude prices and potential rate cuts by the US Fed & RBI to mitigate the downturn risk, he added.