Mumbai, Sep 5 (IANS): Indian frontline equity indices closed in the red on Thursday due to heavyweights like Reliance, Tata Motors and Nestle losing the most in the Sensex.

At closing, Sensex was down 151 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 82,201 and Nifty was down 53 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 25,145.

In the Sensex pack, Reliance, Bharti Airtel, Tata Motors, Nestle, M&M, Power Grid, Bajaj Finance, L&T, JSW Steel, Sun Pharma, and UltraTech Cement were the top losers. Titan, Wipro, ITC, Infosys, Tata Steel, SBI, Asian Paints, and HDFC Bank were the top gainers.

Market sentiment remains positive.

On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), 2,260 shares closed in the green, 1,667 shares settled in the red, and 110 shares closed with no change. Buying was seen in the midcaps and largecaps.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 59,448, up 224 points or 0.38 per cent, and Nifty Smallcap closed at 19,520, up 198 points or 1.03 per cent.

Among the sectoral indices, energy, auto, realty and infra were the top gainers. Auto, PSU Bank, fin service, metal, and media were top losers. I

NDIAVIX was down by 1.25 per cent and is currently trading at 14.20.

According to market experts, the benchmark indices continued to trade with minor losses due to concerns about a slowdown in the US & Chinese economies. The market is now seeking new catalysts, particularly in how the Fed evaluates the challenge of achieving a soft landing, they said, adding that the broader market outperformed, benefiting from positive service PMI data that suggests supportive domestic economic conditions.

The foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their buying for the fifth consecutive session on September 4 as they bought equities worth Rs 975 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 97 crore on the same day.