The markets opened marginally in the red and flirted on either side on the dotted line throughout the morning session. However, volatility returned to haunt the Street in the post-lunch session. The Sensex closed around the lowest point of the day, at 15,404, weaker by 491 points or 3%, and the Nifty ended at 4545, down by 147 points.
Sterlite and ACC lost 6% each to end at Rs 722 and Rs 701 respectively.
The stocks to buck the weak trend were Bharti (stronger by 2% at Rs 299) and Maruti (higher by 1% at Rs 1,418).
The market breadth turned substantially negative at close, with 4 declining stocks behind every advancing stock. Out of 2,759 stocks traded on the BSE, there were 2,167 declining stocks as against 536 advances.
Global cues drag markets down
Housing market booms: DLF sells 1,250 flats in 2 hours
Sensex down nearly 700 points
BSE CEO Rajnikant Patel resigns
DLF garners Rs 100 crore from bookings