Mumbai, July 7 -- Indian equity markets ended marginally lower on Tuesday as investors booked profits in the second half of the trading session amid weakness across Asian markets and caution ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

The NSE Nifty 50 settled at 24,398.70, down 31.65 points or 0.13 per cent, while the BSE Sensex closed at 78,180.72, falling 104.35 points or 0.13 per cent.

Market experts said investor sentiment turned cautious as markets tracked weak cues from other Asian markets while participants awaited the US Fed minutes for further direction.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Investments Limited, said, "Profit booking emerged in the latter half of the session as weakness across Asian market...