The BSE Sensex closed the day lower by 256 points. while the Nifty ended the day lower by 71 points at 5235 points. Among the stocks that lost ground today was Infosys which shed more than 8% on the back of poor Q1 performance, lower margins and poor revenue guidance for 2012-13.

Among the other stocks that lost ground were Wipro, Bharti Airtel and IDFC. BPCL rose on reports that the government could consider a diesel hike after the Presidential elections.

Asian markets ended the day deeply in the red with Hong Kong's Hang Sang and the Korean Kospi losing more than 2% each, while the Japanese Nikkei ended 1.48% lower.

Europe was trading weak when the Indian markets closed.

Markets discounted the better than expected weak IIP data which came in at 2.4%, as against a market expectations of around 1%. Markets are now likely to eye inflation data that is expected on Monday, which would determine the RBI monetary policy action.

The RBI is slated to meet on July 31, for its monetary policy review.

GoodReturns.in