Equity benchmark indices buckled under selling pressure for the fifth straight session on Thursday as a bearish trend in Asian markets and concerns over rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve unnerved investors.
Besides, fresh foreign fund outflows also hit investor sentiments, traders said.
In a highly volatile trade amid monthly derivatives expiry, the BSE Sensex declined 139.18 points or 0.23 per cent to settle at 59,605.80. During the day, it hit a high of 59,960.04 and a low of 59,406.31.
The NSE Nifty slipped 43.05 points or 0.25 per cent to end at 17,511.25.
In the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, Larsen & Toubro, Titan, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel, Power Grid, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, HDFC Bank and HDFC were the major laggards.
On the other hand, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, ITC, State Bank of India, Tata Steel and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.