The rupee hit near six-month low against the dollar in day trade which dampened the sentiment further.
The rupee fell to 65.15 per dollar (intra-day), its weakest level since April 5, on speculation of widening fiscal deficit amid sustained foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share index stayed in the negative zone for the whole day and touched a low of 31,886.09 before settling at 31,92.44, down by 447.60 points, or 1.38 per cent -- its biggest single-day fall since November 15 last year.
The broader Nifty also succumbed to selling pressure and cracked below the 10,0000-mark to hit a low of 9,952.80 before ending at 9,964.40, down 157.50 points, or 1.56 per cent.
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On a weekly basis, the BSE Sensex dropped by 350.17 points, or 1.08 per cent, its biggest fall since August 11. The Nifty too ended lower by 121 points, or 1.19 per cent.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley yesterday promised "appropriate actions" at the "right time" to revive the slowdown-hit economy, which slipped to a three-year low of 5.7 percent in the April-June quarter.