Mumbai, May 19 -- Equity benchmarks ended slightly in the red today, logging a second straight day of losses as investor sentiment remained fragile. Moody's downgrade of the U.S. credit outlook, coupled with mixed economic cues from China, kept the markets on edge. A spike in U.S. Treasury yields further unnerved investors. Rising yields often signal growing concerns over debt sustainability. The Nifty closed below the 24,950 mark, weighed down primarily by IT stocks, which took a hit in the wake of the U.S. rating downgrade.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 271.17 points or 0.33% to 82,059.42. The Nifty 50 index fell 74.35 points or 0.30% to 24,945.45. In the past two trading session Sensex and Nifty declined 0.57% and 0.47%.

Grasim Industr...