Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty halted their three-day record-hitting rally to close with losses on Friday as investors booked profit in banking, finance and tech stocks despite a positive trend in global equities.

Snapping a four-session winning run, equity indices succumbed to selling pressure after mid-session when profit-taking emerged on few counters.

After hitting fresh all-time high level in early trade, the 30-share index declined 210.45 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 79,032.73. During the day, it jumped 428.4 points or 0.54 per cent to hit a fresh record peak of 79,671.58.

The Nifty went lower by 33.90 points or 0.14 per cent to 24,010.60. During the day, it climbed 129.5 points or 0.53 per cent to hit a new lifetime high of 24,174.

The Sensex breached the historic 79,000 mark on Thursday and the Nifty hit the 24,000 level for the first time in intra-day trade.

In the past four trading days, the BSE benchmark jumped 2,033.28 points or 2.63 per cent.

Among the 30 Sensex companies, IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Maruti, JSW Steel and Bajaj Finserv were among the laggards.

In contrast, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Asian Paints, Nestle and Titan were the biggest gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the green.

European markets were trading mostly higher. US markets ended in positive territory on Thursday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 7,658.77 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.89 per cent to USD 87.16 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark jumped 568.93 points or 0.72 per cent to settle at a new closing peak of 79,243.18 on Thursday.

The Nifty ended at a fresh record high of 24,044.50, rising 175.70 points or 0.74 per cent.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.