The Sensex, which jumped by 111 points in the previous session, commenced the day on a positive note but met with profit selling at higher levels. It closed at 18,710.02, down 83.42 points, or 0.44 per cent.
Likewise, the 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 25.75 points to close at 5,691.40.
In 30-share Sensex, 23 stocks declined led by Jindal Steel, Hero MotoCorp, Hindalco, Infosys and ITC. RIL was down 0.58 per cent. In the IT pack, TCS and Wipro also ended lower.
Brokers said trading as choppy throughout as investors were seen winding up positions ahead of October month derivatives expiry.
"Market participants remained cautious on Tuesday ahead of trading holiday on account of Dussehra tomorrow, while, investors may adopt a guarded approach ahead of the F&O expiry ," said Amar Ambani, Head of Research, IIFL.
Hero MotoCorp fell 1.90 per cent ahead of its earnings, while ITC Ltd lost 1.29 per cent on profit selling after investors judged the recent gains as excessive, said traders.
However, L&T shares continued their upward march and ended 1.91 per cent up after higher-than-expected Q2 earnings.
The market also remained under pressure on reports of downgrading of credit ratings on five Spanish regions.
Selling was across-the-board as 12 out of 13 BSE sectoral indices closed lower with consumer durable, IT, Metal and FMCG segments suffering the most, while Capital Goods index was the lone gainer. (MORE)
