In volatile trading, equities fell for a second straight day as heavy losses in healthcare stocks countered advances in auto and banking sectors amid caution ahead of derivatives expiry and investors waiting for a speech by the US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
In a see-saw trading, the benchmark BSE Sensex edged lower by 66 points to end at about two-week low of 24,900.46 while NSE Nifty fell by 18 points to slip below the 7,600-mark. Pharma stocks took a heavy beating after some companies from the sector received observations from the US health regulator.
lupin, which plummeted by more than 6 per cent and was the worst performer from the Sensex pack, said it received a total of three observations relating to violation of production norms at manufacturing facilities at Mandideep, Madhya Pradesh from the US Food and Drug Administration.