The benchmark indices pared part of their morning losses in the afternoon session on Monday. Sensex was quoting at 39,536, down 77 points or 0.20 per cent lower, while the Nifty fell 25 points or 0.22 per cent to 11,617.
The top gainers on the Sensex were IndusInd Bank (up nearly 7 per cent), ICICI Bank (6.16 per cent), Bharti Airtel (4.23 per cent), Axis Bank (3.61 per cent) and SBI (2.91 per cent). The laggards were Reliance (down 7 per cent), HCL Tech (2 per cent), TCS (1.83 per cent), Asian Paints (1.59 per cent) and Tata Steel (1.57 per cent)
Among the BSE sectoral indices, the banking index was the top gainer, rising nearly 3 per cent, followed by realty (up 2.92 per cent), telecom (2.77 per cent) and finance (up 2.02 per cent). The energy index, on the other hand, lost nearly 6 per cent.
According to an agency report, the Sensex dropped over 200 points in early trade, tracking losses in index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, TCS and Infosys amid sustained foreign fund outflow.
Investors were also cautious ahead of the US presidential election this week, the report quoting traders said. The 30-share BSE index gyrated 473 points in the first 30 minutes of trade.
In the previous session, Sensex ended 135.78 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 39,614.07, while Nifty slipped 28.40 points or 0.24 per cent to 11,642.40.
Exchange data showed that foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 870.88 crore on a net basis on Friday.
According to Arjun Yash Mahajan, Head, Institutional Business at Reliance Securities, volatility will prevail in Indian equities ahead of the US presidential election and the Supreme Court hearing on interest waivers.
“Additionally, strong auto sales volume from heavyweight Maruti and Hero MotoCorp and stronger than estimated 2Q performance from RIL and ICICI Bank should offer support to the market,” he said.
Bourses in Shanghai were in the red, while Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 3.27 per cent lower at $36.70 per barrel (with inputs from PTI).