Equity benchmark indices continued to fall for the second
day, following weakness in index majors Wipro, RIL and Bharti Airtel amid a
negative trend in global markets.

Investors remained concerned ahead of the release of
crucial macroeconomic data including industrial production for February and
inflation rate for March.

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The BSE Sensex plummeted 388.20 points or 0.66% to close
at 58,576.37. During the day, the benchmark plunged 666 points or 1.12% to
58,298.57.

The NSE Nifty closed 144.65 points or 0.82% lower at 17,530.30.

On the sectoral front, except the bank, all other sectors
including metal, realty, IT, capital goods and oil & gas closed 1%-3% down.
BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices closed over a per cent each.

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Major laggards from the 30-share pack include Tata Steel
down by 2.76%, Tech Mahindra down by 2.26%, Wipro down by 2.16% Bharti Airtel
down by 2.15%, Reliance Industries down by 1.90%, Larsen & Toubro down by
1.86% and Bajaj Finserv down by 1.58%.

Among the gainers were Axis Bank up by 1.67%, Kotak
Mahindra Bank up by 1.05%, Power Grid up by 0.82%, Maruti Suzuki up by 0.60%,
and ICICI Bank up by 0.59%.

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The rupee slipped 23 paise to close at 76.14 against the
US dollar, following a strong American currency in the international market and
a weak trend in domestic equities.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) closed 0.13% down at Rs
3,691.45 after reporting its Q4 results after trading hours on Monday. The
company crossed the Rs 50,000-crore revenue mark for the first time and
recorded a 7.4% year-on-year growth in net profit to Rs 9,926 crore.

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Among Asian markets, bourses in Tokyo and Seoul ended
lower, while Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher.

Stock markets in Europe were also trading down during the
afternoon session. The US stocks closed with significant losses on Monday.

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International oil benchmark Brent crude went up 3.20% to
USD 101.6 per barrel.

According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional
investors continued to sell shares worth Rs 1,145.24 crore on Monday.