Insight Bureau: The BSE Sensex closed at 53,749.26, down 303.35 points or 0.56 per cent and the Nifty 50 closed at 16,025.80, down 99.35 points or 0.62 per cent.
The volatility index softened 1.37 per cent to 25.28.
NTPC, HDFC Life, SBI Life, Bharti Airtel and ONGC were the top gainers on the Nifty 50 while Asian Paints, Adani Ports, Divi’s Lab, UPL and Tech Mahindra were the top losers.
On the sectoral front, a majority of indices were in the red with IT, metals and realty witnessing increased pressure.