In a highly volatile trade, Indian stock indices hovered substantially lower from the previous closing, largely due to sustained selling by foreign portfolio investors.
Sensex closed at 78,782.24 points, down 941.88 points or 1.18 per cent, while Nifty closed at 23,995.35 points, down 309.00 points or 1.27 per cent. Among the sectoral indices, all declined with the Nifty realty being the top loser at 2.93 per cent. At one point during the session, Sensex was about 1,500 points lower, but it was able to pare some of the losses later.