The Sensex was down 146.21 points to close at 20,708.71, and the Nifty declined 40.90 points to 6,160.95, weighed down by oil & gas, FMCG and auto stocks on Wednesday.
Richard Gibbs, global head, Macquarie Securities says the current corrections seen in the global market is due to two major risks- the geopolitical crises in Middle East and the economic risk coming from the United States on the back of tapering of the quantitative easing(QE).
Gold gained more than half a percent on Monday after disappointing US jobs data revived hopes for further monetary easing, while appetite for the metal was also boosted as China inflation spiked.