Continuing the previous day’s decline, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 309.7 points to 59,805.78 in early trade. The broader NSE Nifty closed 89.8 points lower at 17,824.35.
From the Sensex pack, Bharti Airtel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Hindustan Unilever, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, HDFC and IndusInd Bank were the major laggards.
Winners included Tata Motors, HCL Technologies, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, UltraTech Cement and ICICI Bank.
“The biggest pressure on the market in the near term is the sustained selling by FIIs for 13 consecutive sessions, which has led to cumulative cash market selling. 16,587 crore,” said VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold shares 2,109.34 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.
Elsewhere in Asia, equity markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong were trading in the green.
Markets in the US closed in a positive range on Tuesday.
The 30-share BSE benchmark had closed 631.83 points, or 1.04 per cent, down at 60,115.48 on Tuesday. The Nifty closed at 17,914.15, down 187.05 points or 1.03 per cent.
International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.72 per cent to $79.52 per barrel.
