The Sensex, which had been on a falling spree since the last two trading sessions, declined by a further 301.14 points to 16,348.50, after touching the day's low of 16,300.88 and high of 16,498.24 points. The key index had closed at the same level on April 16.
The Nifty lost 71.50 points at 4,875.05. It dipped to a low of 4,858 and rose to 4,953.60 points during the day. The market breadth was negative. Out of 2,758 traded stocks, 667 advanced, 2,043 declined and 48 remained unchanged.
The metal index suffered the most, losing 452.59 points at 16,343.21. The capital goods index weakened by 358.74 points to 12,833.68 and the banking index dropped 292.91 points to 7,939.25.
BHEL led the decline in the capital goods sector, following reports of a fall in its quarterly earnings. The state-run company registered its biggest decline in more than seven weeks as higher wage and raw material costs cut its earnings.
Jaiprakash Associates tumbled 5.6 per cent to Rs 224, while Ambuja Cements plunged 5.4 per cent to Rs 97.
ICICI Bank slipped 4.3 per cent to Rs 827 and HDFC weakened to Rs 2,573 - down 3.9 per cent.
