Here's how the day was at the Markets

The Nifty ended August with monthly losses of 6.6 percent as investors grappled with a global downturn in equities kicked off by China's surprise devaluation in the middle of the month.

Meanwhile, the Index shed 31 points to end Monday at 7,971 points as it gave up gains due to selling in the last two hours of trade. It made an intra-day high of 8,040 points. BHEL, Power Grid, Bharti, ACC and Bosch slipped in trade while Pharma stocks dominated the gainers list: Lupin, Cipla, Dr. Reddy's, Coal India and BPCL notched up gains. The Advance-Decline Ratio on the Nifty was 22/28.

Glenmark and Indiabulls Housing Finance were the top two traded stocks as they entered the MSCI India Index. More than 800 crore rupees worth of each stock was purchased on the National Stock Exchange.

Broader market indices gave up their early gains. As a consequence, CNX 100, CNX 200, CNX 500, CNX Mid Cap and CNX Junior Indices fell between 0.4-0.6 percent. The Bank nifty slid 65 points to 17,146. CNX Auto, CNX Energy CNX Finance and CNX PSU Bank Indices also lost ground. Strong gains were seen on CNX Pharma Index, as also on CNX Metals and CNX IT Indices.

The mood was equally sombre on the Bombay Stock Exchange where the Sensex lost 109 points, or 0.4 percent, at 26,283 points. BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Hindalco and ICICI Bank were the top losers while Lupin, Cipla, Dr. Reddy's, Coal India and Vedanta posted gains. The Advance Decline Ratio on the Sensex was 10/20 and State Bank of India was the top traded counter with 44 crore rupees of shares traded.

The futures and options market was more buoyant than its cash counterpart as the new monthly expiry took root. Divi's Labs, Ajanta Pharma, Reliance Communications and PTC were the top gaining futures while M&M Finance, Crompton Greaves, Amtek Auto and Indiabulls Housing Finance slipped below friday's close. The Advance-Decline Ratio was 66/92 and Nifty futures slipped 0.3 percent to end the day at 8,001 points.

Bears dominated the broader markets as well with 1,170 shares gaining versus 1,489 stocks that dropped.

Escorts, D S Kulkarni, and Jubilant Industries hit fresh highs on the NSE while Trent, Blue Dart and Glenmark made it to the top volume buzzers list on the exchange.

Image credit: Indiatimes