From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 04:04 PM IST

A key Indian equity index shut shop almost 200 points in the red Wednesday as selling pressure intensified during the last minutes of trade.

The 30-scrip sensitive index, Sensex, of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,229.72 points, closed at 17,023.18 points (provisional) -- down 199.83 points or 1.16 percent from Saturday's close.

The S and amp;P CNX Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE), too, closed in the red at 5,058.75 points, down 1.09 percent.

The BSE midcap index ended 1.06 percent lower, while the BSE smallcap index closed with modest gain, 0.21 percent up.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)