Mumbai, Nov 19 (IANS) Indian equities closed lower Thursday on intense selling, with a key index shutting shop 226 points lower than its previous close.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened little higher at 17,004.98 points, but soon started slipping on weak cues from other Asian markets.

It ended trade at 16,772.48 points, down 226.3 points, or 1.33 percent from its previous close.

The index had hit an intra-day low of 16,712.33 points in the afternoon, but recouped some losses in the last minutes of the trade.

Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, only three were in the green, while all others were ruling in the negative territory.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty fell below the 5,000-mark to close at 4,987.75 points, with a loss of 1.32 percent, data with the exchange showed.

Broader market indices also closed in the red, with the BSE midcap index ruling 1.67 percent lower and the BSE small cap index 1.08 percent.