The 30-stock Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) sensitive index (Sensex) slipped for the third consecutive day today, as funds and speculators offloaded positions ahead of Wednesday's court hearing on the Ayodhya issue.
Losers outnumbered the gainers amid thin trade, as banks and financial institutions remained closed on account of Shivratri. The Sensex ended with a loss of 68.17 points at 3,535.80.
Dealers said, concerns over the uncertain socio-political situation forced investors to book profits.
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On National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty Index shed 17.40 points to 1,150.45.
Selling pressure was seen across all heavyweight counters. Hindustan Lever (down 2.92 per cent to Rs 232.45), Reliance Industries (down 2.08 per cent to Rs 292), Reliance Petroleum (down 2.04 per cent to Rs 26.40) and SBI (down 1.36 per cent to Rs 228.65) slipped on panic selling by speculators.
Tata Engineering (down 4.37 per cent to Rs 129.15) and Tata Steel (down 3.29 per cent to Rs 98.45) also lost ground on fresh selling pressure.
However, cigarette major ITC (up 0.28 per cent to Rs 717.65) attracted defensive buying interest.
Automobiles major Bajaj Auto also bounced back from the day's low of Rs 474 to Rs 483, before settling at Rs 481.95, up 0.68 per cent over its previous close.
Among side counters, Bata India (up 13.60 per cent to Rs 40.10) jumped on renewed institutional buying interest.
Hindustan Zinc (up 3.28 per cent to Rs 31.45) also improved on reports that the government had invited final bids for a part of its 76 per cent stake in the company.
Among new economy stocks, Zee Telefilms (down 3.22 per cent to Rs 153.25) ended lower, coming off from the day's high of Rs 160.05 on selling pressure. The company announced that it would be picking up a strategic stake in Padmalaya Telefilms for Rs 142.20 per share.
HCL Tech (down 4.09 per cent to Rs 281.25), Satyam Computer (down 2.87 per cent to Rs 280.45) and Infosys Technologies (down 1.16 per cent to Rs 4,191.20) fell on profit booking after recent gains.
However, Sterlite Optical (up 183 per cent to Rs 147.30) rose on hopes of a further improvement in the price of optical fibre cables.