The BSE Sensex showed a fall of 93.25 points in uneven trade on Tuesday, clouded by concerns over the weak monsoon reducing demand in rural areas.
Asian indices ended low while European markets were trading in the red in late morning trade, snapping three sessions of a strong rally.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer touched the intra-day high of 16,002.46 for the first time since June 2, 2008, but went down to 15,699.13 before settling the day at 15,830.98, a fall of 0.59 per cent over its previous close.
Similarly, the broad-based 50-share Nifty of the National Stock Exchange also dropped 30.90 points or 0.66 per cent to 4,680.50 from its last close.
According to operators, investors booked profits at higher levels after the Sensex touched 16,000.
Bonanza Portfolio Assistant Vice-President Avinash Gupta said, ?The market is expected to be range-bound with an upward bias. Trading today was stock-specific rather than sector-specific.? Selling in key counters such as Tata Power, ONGC, REL Infra, Bharti Airtel, REL Com and Jaipra Asso mainly weighed on market sentiment, they added.
However, buying in Hindalco, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Motors, RIL and Maruti Suzuki helped the benchmark to cushion the fall to some extent.