Mumbai: Equity indices tripped in the last half-an-hour of trade on Tuesday to notch up losses for the fifth consecutive session as finance and IT counters continued to bear the brunt of heavy selling amid negative global cues.
The 30-share BSE Sensex opened modestly higher and weathered bouts of volatility to trade in the positive territory, but succumbed to a sudden burst of selling towards the fag-end to close 703.59 points or 1.23 per cent lower at 56,463.15.
Tracking the weakness in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms tumbled by Rs 8,08,067.6 crore in five days to stand at Rs 2,66,02,728.45 crore.
On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty declined 215 points or 1.25 per cent to settle at 16,958.65. The Sensex has now lost a hefty 2,984.03 points in five sessions, while the Nifty has shed 825.70 points.
HDFC and HDFC Bank were the biggest losers in the Sensex pack in Tuesday's session, tumbling 5.50 per cent and 3.73 per cent, respectively.
Infosys, ITC, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, HUL and Nestle India were among the other prominent
laggards.