The markets came under heavy selling pressure in heavy-weight counters on Tuesday, following weakening global markets and pulled down the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index Sensex by 155 points.
The Sensex, which opened moderately higher fell back to close with a loss of 155.02 points to 17,486.06, as the market leaders Reliance and Infosys came under hammering.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty 50 dropped by 49.20 points to 5,225.65, after moving between 5,287.80 and 5,218.65.
The realty, IT, oil & gas and healthcare counters were battered towards the second part of the trade, following a very weak opening of the European markets, pulling the broader market down.
The Sensex heaviest Reliance Industries fell by Rs. 14.35 to Rs. 1,085.20 and second-heaviest Infosys Technologies shed Rs. 32.75 to Rs. 2,636.45. The two carry nearly 24 per cent weight on the index.
Among the 30-share Sensex stocks, 23 closed with losses while seven ended in positive zone.
The realty sector index suffered the most by losing 1.75 per cent to 4,006.91 followed by IT sector index by 1.68 per cent to 5,342.79.
The profit-selling was visible across the counters which witnessed massive rally in the past weeks.
Among the IT sector, Tata Consultancy Services came under severe hammering and shed 2.38 per cent to Rs. 780.60, as investors were concerned that a weak dollar might reduce their earnings. Wipro fell by 1.34 per cent to Rs. 737.45, and Infosys also lost heavily today.
Brokers said the market is in a consolidation mood and would face resistance at any level above 17,600 as major market players are encashing every opportunity at higher levels.
They said the third quarter performances are running the show presently and cushioned the market on every fall.
However, a rise in stocks of consumer durables, banks and public sector undertakings saved the market from any major fall.
