Selling pressure was broad-based as 12 of fifteen sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty Consumer Durable index's nearly 2 per cent decline.
The Indian equity benchmarks edged lower on Tuesday as traders booked profits after three days of strong upmove amid weak cues from other Asian markets. The Sensex fell as much as 335 points and Nifty 50 index dropped below its important psychological level of 15,750.
As of 9:32 am, the Sensex was down 320 points at 52,841 and Nifty 50 index fell 105 points to 15,726.
Asian shares edge down in early trade on Tuesday with investors taking their cue from a volatile Wall Street session overnight, while oil prices climbed following last week's rout.
Oil continued to rise with investors still weighing worries over an economic slowdown against concern over lost Russian supply amid sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine.
Japan's Nikkei fell 0.19 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.84 per cent, Taiwan Weighted fell 0.95 per cent and South Korea's KOSPI fell 0.15 per cent.
Back home, selling pressure was broad-based as 12 of fifteen sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty Consumer Durable index's nearly 2 per cent decline. Nifty Media, Financial Services, FMCG, IT, Pharma, Realty and Healthcare indices also fell between 0.5-0.9 per cent.
On the flipside, select Oil & Gas, PSU Bank and Auto shares were witnessing buying interest.
Mid- and small-cap shares were also facing selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell 0.7 per cent each.
Titan was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 3.5 per cent to Rs 1,968. Asian Paints, Bajaj Finserv, Adani Ports, Divi's Labs, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Grasim Industries, Britannia, Hindustan Unilever, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance and Shree Cements also fell between 1.3-3.3 per cent.
On the flipside, Mahindra & Mahindra, ONGC, Bharat Petroleum, Reliance Industries, ITC, Eicher Motors and Dr Reddy's Labs were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,500 shares were declining while 1,110 were advancing on the BSE.