Persistent selling pressure due to US recession worries and the worsening euro zone debt crisis pulled down the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex by another 119 points in early trade on Tuesday.
The Sensex resumed lower at 16,663.73 and dropped further to 16,587.13 before quoting at 16,594.59 at 1015 hours, translating into a net loss of 118.74 points, or 0.71 per cent, vis-a-vis its previous close.
The NSE's 50-share Nifty Index also moved down by 37.65 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 4,979.55 at 1015 hours.
In the 30-share Sensex pack, 20 stocks declined, while the others registered gains.
The realty, banking, IT and metal sectors bore the brunt of the selling pressure and were primarily responsible for the 30-share Sensex's fall.
Software stocks extended their recent fall on concerns that a likely economic slowdown in the US and Europe will hit technology spending by overseas clients.
The major losers in early trade were DLF (4.04 per cent), SBI (2.14 per cent), ICICI Bank (2.08 per cent), Bharti airtel (2.03 per cent) and Tata Steel (1.83 per cent).
Asian markets declined in early trade today on fears that Europe's sovereign debt troubles are worsening and could trigger a second full-blown banking crisis.
The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and China were down by between 0.08 per cent and 1.27 per cent.