The market breadth indicating the overall health of the market was also weak.
Sensex opened lower at 27,440.10 and hovered in a range of 27,442.82 and 27,131.44 before quoting at 27,198.98 at 1100 hrs, a fall of 408.84 points or 1.48 per cent from its last close.
The 50-share Nifty fell by 124.55 points or 1.49 per cent to 8,248.20 at 1100 hrs. Nifty also hit its lowest level in seven and a half months weeks.
Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 1,007.26 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released.
Overseas, Asian stocks edged lower. Key indices in Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore were off between 1.88 per cent and to 3.11 per cent.
In the New York market, US stocks suffered their worst sell-off in 2015 overnight as markets were buffeted by worries about a slowdown in global growth.