Mumbai, Aug. 29 -- The headline equity benchmarks ended with modest losses today, marking their third straight session of decline as steep U.S. tariffs on Indian goods weighed on sentiment. Persistent FII selling further dampened the mood. The Nifty closed below the 24,450 level, pressured by energy and auto stocks, while gains in FMCG and consumer durables provided some support.

The S&P BSE Sensex declined 270.92 points or 0.34% to 79,809.65. The Nifty 50 index lost 74.05 points or 0.30% to 24,426.85. In three trading sessions, the Sensex slumped 2.23% and the Nifty tumbled 2.16%.

Mahindra & Mahindra (down 2.96%), Reliance Industries (down 2.21%) and Infosys (down 2.04%) were major Nifty drags today.

In the broader market, The S&P BSE...