Indian equities continued their downfall on account of heavy selling pressure across all segments.

BSE Realty, Bankex and Metal were among the worst hit in the sell-off this morning, while oil, auto, information technology and capital goods stocks also declined sharply.

BSE Midcap and Smallcap lost 2.44% and 1.56% respectively.

A few FMCG stocks in the list have moved up. Some pharma stocks have edged higher on selective buying support.

The overall breadth of the market was too weak as 335 advancements as against 1,073 declinations.

At 10:55 a.m., the 30-share index Sensex lost 252.93 points at 8,586.94 after hitting a high of 8,628.50 and a low of 8,514.48.

Meanwhile the broad based Nifty stood at 2,606.30, down 76.60 points, after touching a high of 2,672.90 and a low of 2,581.70.

The 30-share index, BSE Sensex opened with a loss of 304.04 points, at 8,535.83. In the previous day session, the Sensex settled with a loss of 252.85 points, or 2.78%, while the NSE Nifty declined by 72.20 points, or 2.62%.

The only gainer in the 30-share index was Reliance Energy, which gained 0.11%.

On the other hand, the major losers list included Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti Suzuki India, ICICI Bank, ONGC, Wipro, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys Technologies, Satyam Computer Services, BHEL and Larsen & Toubro, Rolta India, HCL Technologies, Financial Technologies, Bhushan Steel, IVRCL Infrastructure, Cairn India, Educomp Solutions, MMTC, Essar Oil, Welspun Gujarat, Omaxe, Punj Lloyd, Unitech, Crompton Greaves, Edelweiss Capital and Oriental Bank of Commerce.