Extending its losing run to the second day, the benchmark BSE Sensex today fell by 80 points to over one-week low as investors booked profits in consumer durable, banking and metal shares.
An upsurge in software exporters, like TCS, Infosys and Wipro, however capped the losses to some extent after rupee fell to 62-levels against the dollar.
After losing 265 points in the previous sesssion, the Sensex fell further by 79.85 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 20,894.94 -- its worst closing since 20,570.28 on October 28.
The gauge had rallied to an all-time high on Sunday in a special Muhurat trading session with foreign investors remaining net buyers for over 21 straight days, better-than-expected corporate earnings and renewed optimism over the economic recovery.
In 30-share Sensex pack, 20 stocks declined led by State Bank of India, RIL, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Jindal Steel, Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors and Tata Steel.
The 50-scrip National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 38 points, or 0.61 per cent, to end at 6,215.15. Also, SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed at 12,416.31, down 77.79 points.
However, mid-cap and small-cap shares fared better than bluechips as retail investors were seen buying these scrips, traders said.
"All major events like Q2 results and RBI monetary policy are almost over and so there is lack of concrete trigger to fuel the rally further. Hence, we can expect some consolidation..." said Nidhi Saraswat, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio Ltd.
Sectorally, the BSE Consumer Durable index suffered the most by losing 2.19 per cent, followed by Bankex index (1.87 per cent), Realty index (1.80 per cent) and Metal index (1.31 per cent).