Snapping two-day rally, the BSE
Sensex on Tuesday ended 21 points down on profit selling by funds, especially in IT stock led by software exporter Infosys ahead of its quarterly earnings and a weak trend in Europe.
The Bombay Stock Exchange's Sensex, which had gained 765 points in last two trading sessions, extended gains at the outset to climb 16,774.12, before ending 20.76 points lower at 16,536.47.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell 5.25 points to 4,974.35, after climbing to 5,045.10.
Indian markets opened higher on firm cues from Asia but lower openings in Europe amid uncertainty over euro-zone debt bailout plans pulled down the stocks.
Brokers said the beginning of the second quarter earnings season this week with Infosys results on Wednesday kept the investor confidence a little shaky.
Sensex's second heaviest stock Infosys lost 3.17 per cent as the ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said Europe's debt crisis has reached a "systemic dimension." The Indian software exporters get nearly 85 per cent revenues from the US and European clients.
Mobile companies, led by Bharti Airtel bucked the weak trend and cushioned the fall after the government said it is planning to make more spectrum available to operators and allow sharing and trading of radio waves.
The IT sector index fell the most by 2.70 per cent to 5,245.09 and oil and gas index by 0.56 per cent to 8,632.55 as the most heaviest on the Sensex - Reliance Industries lost 0.25 per cent to Rs 825.85.
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