Sensex closes 279 points lower

MUMBAI - Late selling pressure Wednesday resulted in a benchmark index of Indian equities falling sharply in the last half hour of trade, and closing 279 points lower.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 19,735.28 points, closed at 19,412.78 points (provisional), down 279.06 points or 1.42 percent from its previous close at 19,691.84 points.

It touched an intra-day low of 19,375.92 points.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,851.1 points, down 1.41 percent.

Broader markets indices also ended up in losses, with the BSE midcap index ending 1.22 percent down and the BSE smallcap index moving down 0.79 percent.