India, April 17 -- Stock markets closed lower in a volatile session on Thursday with the benchmark Sensex declining by 122 points and Nifty closing below 24,200, dragged by profit-taking in banking and financial shares after a recent sharp rally.

Erasing its early gains, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 122.56 points or 0.16 per cent to settle at 77,988.68. The index opened higher and hit a high of 78,730.32 in late-morning trading. However, profit-taking emerged at higher levels, dragging the index down to a low of 77,674.93. The index gyrated 1,055.39 points during the session. The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 34.55 points or 0.14 per cent to end at 24,196.75. The index moved between a high of 24,400.95 and a low of 24,102.80 during the ...