Market breadth was negative as 1,603 shares ended lower while 868 closed higher on the BSE.The S-P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty 50 indexes ended lower in trade on Tuesday weighed down by selling pressure in heavyweights like HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, Larsen - Toubro, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel and Hindustan Unilever.

The benchmarks had opened lower in trade on Tuesday after a flat close in the previous session and extended losses in noon deals after selling pressure in metal and banking shares intensified.

The Sensex fell as much as 248 points and Nifty 50 index ended below its symbolically important level of 12,000.The Sensex ended 127 points or 0.31 per cent lower at 40,675 and Nifty 50 index declined 54 points or 0.45 per cent to close at 11,994.Nine of 11 sector gauges compiled by National Stock Exchange ended lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Metal indexes nearly 3 per cent fall.Nifty Bank, Nifty Private Bank, Nifty Pharma, Nifty Media and Nifty FMCG indexes also declined between 0.6 and 2.4 per cent each.On the other hand, Nifty Realty index was top gainer, up 1.3 per cent.Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed selling pressure as the Nifty Midcap 100 index declined 1 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index dropped 0.7 per cent.Yes Bank was top loser in the Nifty 50 basket of shares, the stock fell 7.6 per cent to close at Rs 59.20.

Bharti Infratel, Tata Steel, Adani Ports, Zee Entertainment, JSW Steel and Grasim Industries also fell in range of 3-6 per cent each.On the flipside, Bajaj Auto, Bajaj Finserv, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HDFC and Hero MotoCorp were among the gainers.The overall market breadth was negative as 1,603 shares ended lower while 868 closed higher on the BSE.