Profit-booking by investors, after witnessing a nine-week rally, ahead of elections results to be announced on May 16, also dampened the trading sentiments, marketmen said.
They said apart from weak cues from global markets and profit-taking at higher levels, expectations of discouraging industrial output data for the month of March, expected at noon, also cast its shadow on the trading sentiments.
The 30-share barometer, which had lost over 430 points in the last two sessions, fell by 57.60 points at 11,625.39 points in the first five minutes of trading.
Similarly, the wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty fell by 19.55 points to 3,535.05 points.
Major losers which pulled the Sensex down were Reliance Industries down 0.73 per cent, State Bank of India 1 per cent, Tata Steel 2.50 per cent, RCom 0.88 per cent, BHEL 1.97 per cent and Tata Motors 1.69 per cent.
Meanwhile, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 1.82 per cent down yesterday, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.54 per cent and Japan's Nikkei fell by 1.06 per cent in early trade on Tuesday.
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