The BSE Sensex on Thursday closed down 183 points at 15,543.93. The NSE Nifty closed down 60 points at 4,646.25.
“The decline in the markets was due to the expiry of the F&O contracts today. Many short positions were rolled over,” said Ms Shanu Goel, Senior Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio.
Apart from the F&O contracts expiry, the poor performance of the global markets also affected the Indian markets, said analysts.
On the BSE, the metal and the pharma sector indices were the only ones to close up.
Among the Sensex stocks, Jindal Steel, SBI and Sterlite Industries were the top three performers. The top three laggards were Maruti, BHEL and RIL.