Wall Street closed sharply lower on Wednesday as surging consumer prices curbed investor risk appetite.
Nifty PSU Bank was the top laggard with losses of 2.35%, while the Nifty Metal index tanked 1.76% and Nifty Realty index slipped 1.36%.
The 'buy on dips' strategy of retail investors and DIIs is countered with the 'sell on rally' strategy of FIIs.
China's consumer inflation for October rose 1.5% from last year. The producer price index for October surged 13.5% from last year.
Sensex settled at 60,433.45, down 112.16 points or 0.19%, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 24.30 points or 0.13% to end at 18,044.25
The broader market outperformed. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index gained 0.81% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index added 0.67%.
The market breadth was positive as shares 1,674 advanced while 721 declined and 96 remained unchanged.
Wall Street stocks ended slightly higher on Monday, rising early after the passage of a US infrastructure spending bill.
Sensex rallied 477.99 points or 0.80% to end at 60,545.61, while the broader Nifty closed at 18,068.55, up 151.75 points or 0.85%.
IndusInd Bank, diving over 10%, was the top Sensex loser followed by Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, M&M, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank