Indian equity benchmarks closed lower on Thursday, tracking losses in their Asian peers, after stronger-than-expected U.S. retail sales data added to bets that the U.S. Federal Reserve may not ease its aggressive policy stance.

Dear Trader… Weak trade continued over the Dalal Street in today deals, with both Sensex and Nifty trading lower, on the back of negative cues from other Asian markets. Heavy selling at Consumer Durables and Metal counters kept indices down, while Titan fell the most on BSE. Sentiments remained downbeat,