Tracking firm global cues, the Sensex surged 170 points in opening trade, but could not sustain the rally as market players went on a selling spree across counters, especially in realty, banking, auto and metal stocks, pulling the index down by 192.59 points to close at 16,163.44.

Trading sentiment also affected as NTPC fell after the Government fixed the issue price at Rs 201 for its forthcoming follow-on issue--which is much lower than even Monday's closing price. The stock fell by Rs 5.20 to Rs 206.05, its lowest close in three months.

The wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty 50 too fell tumbled by 69.60 points to 4,830.10, after touching the day's low of 4,814.10. This is despite a 51 per cent gap-up opening in the morning.

The major pull down came in from the market leader Reliance Industries which shed Rs 20 to Rs 1,026.60, followed by Infosys which shed Rs 11.55 at Rs 2,437.65, SBI which tumbled by Rs 43.30 to Rs 1,977.80 and realty major DLF by Rs 6.75 to Rs 326.20. These four stocks carry nearly 30 per cent weight on the key index.

Among the 30 Sensex counters, 26 fell while four ended with gains. However, all the sectoral indices ended in red on Tuesday.