The Sensex and the Nifty ended the session marginally in the red amid weak European cues.
After falling over 215 points in the late afternoon trade after the Supreme Court cancelled 214 coal blocks allocation, the 30-share BSE index Sensex ended down 31 points at 26,744.69.
Similarly, the 50-share NSE index Nifty, after declining below the 8,000 mark by falling 67.05 points or 0.84 per cent to 7,950.05, ended the session at 8,002.40, down 15.15 points.
Brokers said that the selling pressure was witnessed soon after the Supreme Court quashed the allocation of 214 coal blocks, allotted since 1993. Besides, persistent selling by foreign funds also dampened the sentiment, they said.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 1,185.17 crore yesterday, as per the provisional data issued by stock exchanges.
Among BSE sectoral indices, capital goods index fell the most by 1.69 per cent, followed by realty 1.69 per cent, consumer durables 1.27 per cent and banking 1.08 per cent. On the other hand, FMCG index was up 1.75 per cent, followed by healthcare 0.55 per cent and oil & gas 0.23 per cent.
Coal India, HUL, Cipla, ITC and Wipro were the major Sensex gainers, while the major losers were SBIN, Tata Steel, L&T, BHEL and TCS.
Most European stocks fell as a measure of German business confidence dropped and the dollar weakened from a four-year high.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slid 0.1 per cent and Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures rose 0.1 per cent at 9:55 a.m. in London.
US air strikes in Syria left Asian stock markets jaded on Wednesday, setting the stage for another soft session for European shares.
The dollar was kept in check after US yields fell on geopolitical concerns and dovish statements by a Federal Reserve official.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan initially fell to a four-month low after Wall Street's overnight slide, but managed to steady thanks to gains in Chinese shares.