In volatile trading, the BSE Sensex fell for the eighth session in a row on Wednesday to close at 18,469, down 65 points, as investors continued to offload stocks in view of RBI hiking key rates and projecting lower GDP growth for this fiscal.
The 30-share Bombay Stock Exchange index, Sensex, which lost 1,068 points in the last seven sessions, fell another 65.33 points to close at 18,469.36.
However, gains in the most-heaviest Reliance Industries saved it from a bigger loss.
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The gauge remained volatile throughout the session between 18,604.36 and 18,339.53.
Similarly, the broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell 28.10 points to 5,537.15 as stocks of auto, IT, metal and healthcare suffered heavy losses amid a weak Asian trend and lower openings in Europe.
The auto sector index suffered the most, falling 1.33 per cent to 8,988.12. Hero Honda fell 3.63 per cent to Rs 1,600.10 while Bajaj Auto plunged the most since August 2009 by losing 4.82 per cent to Rs 1,301.10. Tata Motors lost 0.25 per cent to Rs. 1,160.50.
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However, a firming trend in the oil and gas sector, led by Reliance Industries, saved the market from a major fall.
RIL stocks, with nearly 13 per cent weightage on the Sensex, gained 0.32 per cent to Rs 947.
As selling spread over a broad front, smallcap index eased by 0.54 per cent to 8,390.30 and midcap index by 0.45 per cent to 6,865.96.