Indian equities ended lower on Thursday as heightened volatility caused small-cap and mid-cap stocks to decline following the US Federal Reserve Chair's hawkish commentary. The Nifty settled below 18,800 levels, losing 0.45%. L&T, Divis Laboratories, HDFC twins and Bharti Airtel were the top gainers, while Tata Consumer Products, Asian Paints, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finance, and Tata Steel were the top losers in the Nifty pack. The overall market breadth favoured bears with 2,294 stocks ending in the red.