Mumbai: Market benchmarks spiralled lower for the third session on the trot on Thursday as investors pared their exposure to riskier assets amid a bearish trend overseas due to macroeconomic concerns.
A continuously depreciating rupee, which tumbled for the fifth straight day against the US dollar, also weighed on sentiment.
The 30-share BSE Sensex shed 286.91 points or 0.48 per cent to end at 59,126.36. The index has now lost 951.52 points in three days.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 93.15 points or 0.53 per cent to close at 17,618.15. It has declined by 236.95 points over three sessions.
PowerGrid was the top loser in the Sensex pack on Thursday, slipping 2.67 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, SBI, Kotak Bank, ICICI Bank and M&M.
In contrast, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, Sun Pharma, HUL, Titan, HDFC twins and Dr Reddy's finished with gains of up to 2.19 per cent.
According to traders, expiry of monthly futures and options (F&O) contracts also induced volatility during the session.
Sectorally, BSE realty, consumer durables, utilities, power and healthcare indices rose as much as 1.54 per cent, while bankex, metal, telecom and teck ticked lower. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices rose up to 0.56 per cent.
The rupee declined by 9 paise to end at 74.23 against the US currency on Thursday, marking its fifth straight session of fall, amid risk averse sentiments and foreign fund outflows.