The benchmark indices were trading in negative territory on Tuesday, weighed down by tensions between the US and North Korea. At 1.26 pm the Sensex was trading at 31,547 points, down 78 points or 0.25 per cent lower than its previous close. It had closed Monday's session at 31,626.63.

The Nifty was trading at 9,848 points, down 23 points or 0.24 per cent lower on its previous close at 9,872.60 points.

The top gainers on the Sensex were ONGC (up 3.59 per cent), Tata Steel (2.16 per cent), Lupin (1.61 per cent), CIL (1.52 per cent) and Sun Pharma (1.48 per cent).

The laggards were HUL (down 2.72 per cent), Dr Reddy's (2.67 per cent), Bharti Airtel (1.50 per cent), Asian Paints (1.48 per cent) and TCS (1.02 per cent).

The metal (up 2.41 per cent) and realty (up 1.85 per cent) indices were the top gainers in the afternoon session, while the FMCG, IT, telecom and technology indices were the top losers in the session.

The rupee depreciating by 18 paise to a fresh six-month low of 65.28 against the dollar in early trade and spiking crude prices overseas following Turkish threats to block Kurdish oil exports hurt investor sentiment.

Brokers said that apart from continuous foreign fund outflows, Asia saw losses as the US and North Korea ratcheted up their war of words over Pyongyang’s nuclear programme, which led to slide in the key indices here.

Japan's Nikkei average slipped slightly on Tuesday morning, as technology shares and Apple suppliers edged lower, while concerns over North Korea limited risk appetite.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.24 per cent yesterday.