The Sensex, which made hefty gains in the last three trading sessions, fell by 79.72 points at 8,863.82. It moved between 9,024.12 and 8,801.79 points during the day. The key index gained 783.14 points in the last three trading sessions.

The 50-share National Stock Exchange index Nifty gained 19.80 points to 2,757.45, after rising 2,805.60 and dipping to 2,738.70 points.

Marketmen said sentiment still did not seem to be favourable with the deepening global recession and a slowdown gripping the market.

The banking index, which remained a star-performer in the last few sessions, recorded biggest losses in Tuesday's trading, losing two per cent to 4,005.76, followed by the information technology index, which was down by 1.72 per cent to 2,161.30.

The oil and gas index dropped by 1.46 per cent to 6,206.61 as the segment major and Sensex-heaviest Reliance Industries fell by 1.98 per cent to Rs 1,300.35 and Reliance Natural Resources by 3.28 per cent to Rs 42.70.

Software exporters' stocks were down after Tata Consultancy Services price target was cut at Deutsche Bank on concerns that falling demand would hurt earnings.

The fears that currency volatility would impact the revenue of software-exporting firms had an adverse effect on trading sentiment.

The teck index fell 1.05 per cent to 1,718.52, the consumer durable index 0.94 per cent to 1,505.47, the realty index 0.83 per cent to 1,471.54, the capital goods index 0.39 per cent to 5,896.80, the healthcare index 0.30 per cent to 2,577.24 and the PSU index 0.28 per cent to 4,930.59.

However, the auto sector index gained by 1.06 per cent to 2,854.77 on reports of a smart rise in car sales in February despite the ongoing economic slowdown.

The power index rose 0.73 per cent to 1,710.67 and the FMCG index 0.57 per cent to 1,946.27.