The market on Wednesday narrowed its losses at the closing as the Sensex moved down 69.00 points or 0.3 percent at 25704.61, and the Nifty slipped 20.60 points or 0.3 percent at 7870.15.
SBI, Lupin, ONGC and Tata Steel were top gainers while Bajaj Auto, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC Bank and BHEL were among the laggards in the Sensex.
The market witnessed sharp fall for the second straight day in the gold prices as it shed Rs. 20 to Rs. 29,800 per ten grams at the bullion market today, tracking a weak trend overseas amid easing demand from jewelers and retailers at domestic spot market.
Silver too faced selling pressure and broke below the Rs. 41,000-mark by losing Rs. 200 to Rs. 40,900 per kg. Bullion traders said sentiment remained bearish largely in tandem with a weak global trend where gold snapped three days of gains after strong inflation data that fuelled talk of an interest rate hike.