Eleven of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty Information Technology index's 1.5 per cent decline.
The Indian equity benchmarks snapped their four-day winning streak on Thursday as investor sentiment was dented by rising Coronavirus cases in the country amid weak global cues. The Sensex fell as much as 933 points and Nifty 50 index fell below its important psychological level 17,700 at the day's lowest level.
The Sensex dropped 621 points or 1 per cent to close at 59,602 and Nifty 50 index fell 1 per cent or 179 points to close at 17,746.
Investors resorted to selling on account of profit-booking after a four day rally as rising Coronavirus cases in the country sparked fears of renewed curbs to contain the spread of the virus which may impact the nascent economic growth in the country, analysts said.
India reported over 90,000 coronavirus cases on Thursday, highest in over 200 days.
Meanwhile on Dalal Street, selling pressure was broad-based as eleven of 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty Information Technology index's 1.5 per cent decline. Nifty Healthcare, Private Bank, Pharma, Metal, FMCG, Financial Services and Bank indices also fell between 0.5-1.5 per cent.
On the other hand, Nifty Consumer Durables, PSU Bank, Media and Auto stocks witnessed buying interest.
Mid- and small-cap shares outperformed their larger peers as Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 0.13 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index advanced 0.21 per cent.
Tech Mahindra was top Nifty gainer, the stock rose 2.5 per cent to close at Rs 1,694. Adani Ports, HDFC, Reliance Industries, HCL Technologies, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Nestle India, Grasim Industries, SBI Life, Divi's Labs, Tata Steel and Tata Consultancy Services also fell between 1.3-2.7 per cent.
On the flipside, UPL, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel, Maruti Suzuki, Eicher Motors, Titan, Hindalco, Coal India, Bharat Petroleum, Britannia Industries and Axis Bank were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was positive as 1,984 shares ended higher while 1,398 closed lower on the BSE.