The Sensex and the Nifty ended the sesson marginally in the red amid firm European cues.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex was down 42.29 points or 0.21 per cent at 20,334.27 and the 50-share NSE index Nifty was down 9.75 points or 0.16 per cent at 6,053.45.
Among BSE sectoral indices, TECk. banking, metal and IT indices succumbed to selling pressure and were down 0.84 per cent, 0.53 per cent, 0.51 per cent and 0.42 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, consumer durables and realty indices gained the most by 1.53 per cent and 1.15 per cent, respectively, followed by oil & gas 0.67 per cent and healthcare 0.56 per cent.
Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Maruti, L&T and ONGC were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were Bharti Airtel, TCS, HUL, HDFC and GAIL.
According to market participants, the last leg of corporate earnings, a batch of macroeconomic data and overall FII investment trend will dictate the near-term trend on the bourses.
The consumer price index data for January industrial production data for December 2013 will be released on Wednesday. The wholesale price index is scheduled to be released on Friday. Any softening in price rise will firm up the hopes of a rate cut, they say.
European stocks were little changed as L’Oreal SA and Nokia Oyj rallied, offsetting worse-than-estimated reports on industrial production in France and Italy.
Investors were optimistic that the Federal Reserve will delay a third cut in bond purchases. The new head of Federal Reserve Janet Yellen will deliver her first testimony to the House on Tuesday and the Senate on Thursday.