Mumbai: Markets ended in red for the third straight day as the benchmark BSE Sensex slipped by 213.68 points to end at 2-week low of 27,039.76 on profit-booking amid a cautious approach adopted by investors ahead of the outcome of the US Federal Reserve's meeting later in the day.
Besides, the expiry of October series contracts in the derivatives segment tomorrow, influenced market sentiments.
The CNX 50-share Nifty also dropped 61.70 points, or 0.75 percent, to close at 8,171.20.
"The negative bias prevailed for third day in a row, as a result, benchmarks slipped further in red and lost over half a percent.
"In the absence of any positive cues, participants preferred to book some profit and sit on the sideline ahead of US FOMC meet, though we don't expect any major announcement from that front," said Jayant Manglik, President, Retail Distribution, Religare Securities.
The Sensex resumed lower at 27,131.71 and hovered in a range of 27,163.98 and 26,919.96 before ending at nearly 2-week low of 27,039.76, showing a loss of 213.68 points or 0.78 percent.
The gauge has dropped 431.05 points or 1.57 percent, in two days.
Among major losers, Axis Bank tumbled by 7.36 percent on concerns over the private sector lender's slippages in the second quarter ended September 30, 2015.
ICICI Bank and State Bank of India also ended lower by 4.30 percent and 2.67 percent, respectively.
Globally, stocks in China and Indonesia led the decline in Asian markets as investors turned cautious ahead of the outcome of a monetary policy review from the US Federal Reserve which could provide clues about the timing of the Fed's first interest rate hike in a decade.
Key indices in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan fell by 0.10 percent to 1.72 percent while Japan's Nikkei ended higher by 0.65 percent.
However, European markets were trading higher in afternoon trade as key indices in France, Germany and UK firmed up by 0.43 percent to 0.87 percent.
The Fed is widely expected to leave benchmark interest rates unchanged near zero at its two-day monetary policy meeting, which concludes today.
US stocks edged lower for the second consecutive trading session yesterday on a combination of slumping oil prices, soft economic data and mixed earnings.
Veracity Group CEO Pramit Brahmbhatt said, "Investors preferred to stay away from the market ahead of US jobs data and Federal Reserve's meet later in the day, the outcome of which will help the investors to gauge the market."
In the domestic market, 19 scrips out of the 30-share Sensex pack ended lower while 11 others closed higher.
Other major losers were NTpercent (2.19 percent), Lupin (1.83 percent), Dr Reddy's Lab (1.79 percent) and M&M (1.62 percent).
Bucking the trend, Cipla rose by 1.64 percent, Bharti Airtel (1.62 percent) and ONGC (1.41 percent).
Among the S&P BSE sectoral indices, Bankex fell by 2.53 percent, followed by Power (1.48 percent), Realty (1.24 percent), Auto (0.65 percent) and Healthcare (0.50 percent) while Consumer Durable rose by 1.63 percent.
The market breadth remained negative as 1,486 stocks ended in red, 1,165 closed in green while 183 ruled steady.
The total turnover dropped to Rs 2,701.94 crore from Rs 2,809.03 crore yesterday.
