US slowdown fears drag Sensex down by 74 points

The Sensex on Tuesday fell after some investors judged its recent gains excessive. Reliance Industries, the country's biggest company by value, led the drop.

"The sharp downward movement in Reliance Industries seems to be more related to profit booking on Tuesday,'' said Mahesh Patil, who helps manage $800 million in stocks at Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co in Mumbai.

"The stock has been rising steadily for the last few days but large caps were pretty weak on Tuesday and there was pressure.''

The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex fell 73.91, or 0.4 per cent, to 19,529.50. It earlier rose as much as 0.5 per cent.

The S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange dropped 0.1 per cent to 5,858.35. Nifty futures for December delivery added less than 0.1 per cent to 5,877.35.