The Nifty and the Sensex ended Wednesday half a per cent down on fresh uncertainty over the Euro zone.
It was a see-saw trading session with both indices starting the day in the red, then going four times into the green and finally slipping back into the red.
The Nifty closed at 4,974.8, down 25 points while the Sensex closed at 16,479.58, down 67 points.
" It is scary because the common man in Europe has voted for parties that are not known to support fiscal discipline, though that is the need of the hour," said the Head of Research of an Indian brokerage."
The knee-jerk reaction across global markets is a result of fear that austerity measures in the Euro zone could be shelved in some countries. And this could worsen their debt to GDP ratios."
All the indices on the BSE barring IT and FMCG were in the red. On the NSE, only FMCG and pharma indices ended the day in the green.
Volatility was up 4 per cent and the India Vix closed at 23.04.
ITC, Ranbaxy, Bajaj Auto, TCS and IDFC were the top Nifty gainers while JP Associates, SAIL, Grasim, DLF and Sterlite were the top losers.