Buy or sell stocks, Feb. 6 -- Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty 50 settled lower on Wednesday, dragged by consumer stocks, though gains in energy stocks capped the decline. Weak support from heavyweights and the escalating US-China trade war also weighed on investor's sentiment.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 312.53 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 78,271.28, with 21 of its constituents closing down and nine ending with gains. During the day, it decreased by 367.56 points or 0.46 per cent to 78,216.25. The NSE Nifty dropped 42.95 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 23,696.30. The index moved between a high of 23,807.30 and a low of 23,680.45 during the day.

In contrast to the benchmark indexes, the broader markets extended ga...