Mumbai, Mar 5 (IANS): India's key equity indices snapped a three-day winning streak on Thursday as global concerns over rising bond yields resurfaced.

Accordingly, the two equity indices opened lower but tried to recover only to cede more ground. Globally, Asia-Pacific equities fell after negative sentiment on Wall Street and concerns about rising bond yields trickled over into the region.

Similarly, European stocks fell after three straight sessions of gains as a jump in US bond yields knocked the risk appetite globally.

Among sectors, media was the only gainer while metals, banks, IT and auto index fell the most.

Consequently, the S&P BSE Sensex fell 598.57 points, or 1.16 per cent, to 50,846.08 points from the previous close of 51,444.65. The NSE Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange closed at 15,080.75, lower by 164.85 points, or 1.08 per cent, from its previous close.

"Nifty seems to have turned down after the sharp rise seen on March 3. A fall to below 14,959 will confirm this. On up moves, 15,176-15,202 band will provide resistance," said Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

According to Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services: "Domestic markets along with its global peers mirrored the wounded trend of the US market. The surge in US bond yields added selling pressure in technology stocks, and forced Wall Street to close lower. Blue-chips were much affected by the weak global cues, but mid and smallcaps with their increased investor confidence retained their positive momentum."

S. Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities, said: "Markets opened on a weak note on muted global cues and drifted lower during the afternoon even as we saw heightened investor interest in PSU stocks on hopes of privatisation and asset monetisation. In the broader market, sugar stocks registered smart gains for the second day in a row."