Mumbai, July 18 -- Indian equity benchmarks on Friday ended in the negative zone after trading lower as market participants reacted to the first quarter (Q1FY26) earnings of the finance and IT sectors, despite positive global cues.

At the end of the trading session, BSE Sensex was down 501.51 points or 0.61 per cent at 81,757.73, and the Nifty 50 at National Stock Exchange (NSE) was down 143.05 points or 0.57 per cent at 24,968.40.

Axis Bank, Shriram Finance, Bharat Electronics, HDFC Life, and SBI Life Insurance are among the major losers on NSE, while Wipro, Tata Steel, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, and Infosys were the major gainers.

On the sectoral front, except for metal and media, all other indices traded in the red with pharma, PSU bank, ...