The BSE sensitive index opened at 3173.35, which was inter-day high level and dropped below the psychological barrier of 3100 mark to finish at 3089.02 with a sizable loss of 91.71 points against the previous close of 3180.73 points. The BSE-100 index declined by 38.04 points to 1355.70 against the previous close of 1393.74 points.

Brokers said that the sentiment was affected mainly due to political uncertainty at the centre which has forced marketmen to take a cautious approach. FIIs stayed away from the market while domestic institutional investors made only small purchases in the index-based scrips. Brokerssaid SEBI's decision to reduce daily price fluctuation and weekly fluctuation in share values also adversely affected the market's sentiments.

On the NSE, equities dropped sharply on the due to heavy bull liquidation and lack of support from domestic institutions. The NSE-50 opened at 920.05, slumped to a low of 898.65 and closed at 900.55, showing a fall of 19.35 from the previous close The Nifty junior (midcap) opened at 1316.70, touched a low of 1280.15 and closed at 1281.85, showing sharp losses of 35.00 points from the previous close of 1316.85. The total turnover was Rs 867.37 crore.