The BSE benchmark was down 134.39 points to 18,657.54 and the 50-share NSE benchmark declined 42.30 points to 5,676.40.
Banking stocks, which rallied quite smartly yesterday, were witnessing profit booking. India's largest lenders State Bank of India and ICICI Bank went down 1 percent each while their rival HDFC Bank slipped 0.8 percent.
Engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro and state-run power equipment maker BHEL dropped 1 percent each.
