Mumbai: A key index for Indian equities Thursday ended 25 points lower on a dull day of trade on depressed global cues after the Federal Reserve struck a cautious note on the strength of the U.S. economic recovery. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,750.51 points, ended at 17,730.24 points, 25.7 points or 0.14 percent down from its previous close at 17,755.94 points. The chart showing the 52 week performance of Sensex is on the left. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty closed at 5,320.6 points, down 0.05 percent from its previous close at 5,323.15 points. Broader markets indices too were lacklustre. The BSE midcap index closed 0.12 percent higher and the BSE smallcap index 0.17 percent up. The market breadth was tilted towards the positive, with 1,569 scrips on the advance, compared to 1,298 stocks declining, and 111 remaining unchanged. Realty and energy scrips saw some selling pressure, while FMCG stocks saw some buying. Among gainers on the Sensex were Hindustan Unilever, up 1.67 percent at 270.80; L&T, up 1.25 percent at 1,787.10; Hero Honda, up 0.85 percent at 2,055.25; and ITC, up 0.79 percent at 305.25. Prominent losers included Reliance Infra, down 1.95 percent at 1,162.60; ICICI Bank, down 1.9 percent at 884.85; Maruti Suzuki, down 1.64 percent at 1,384.25; and TCS, down 1.49 percent at 775. According to data with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), foreign institutional investors bought scrips worth $79.83 million Thursday. On the last day of June futures and options, a spate of short coverings tapered off as trading progressed in other Asian markets. Traders were averse to taking up new positions after the Federal Reserve Wednesday scaled back its outlook on the pace of economic recovery and acknowledged that there were pockets of weakness which needed to be plugged. The Japanese Nikkei ended flat at 9,928.34 points, up 0.05 percent, while the South Korean Kospi closed at 1,739.87 points, 0.81 percent higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shut shop 0.59 percent down at 20,733.49 points. The Chinese Shanghai composite index too was in the red at 2,566.75 points, down 0.12 percent. European markets were in the red as well, with fears resurfacing on the strength of the economic recovery. In Britain, the benchmark index, FTSE 100 was ruling 0.64 percent lower at 5,145.47 points, while the French CAC 40 was down 1.05 percent at 3,603.52 points. The German DAX was trading 0.72 percent lower at 6,159.74 points.