The BSE Sensex closed at 76,597.27, down 307.24 points, or 0.40%. Similarly, the NSE Nifty50 ended at 24,080.40, declining 95.25 points, or 0.39%.
On the BSE, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were among the top gainers.
Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal index, along with IT, PSU Bank, Realty and Media indices, declined by up to 3%, making them among the worst-performing sectoral indices of the day.
Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also witnessed sharp selling, falling by up to 8% following comments by Kevin Warsh in his first speech as Federal Reserve chairman at Jackson Hole. Warsh stressed that containing inflation remains a key priority for the US central bank.
In the spot market, gold prices declined around 1.22% to ₹1,54,940 per 10 grams, while silver futures fell 0.5% to ₹2,40,011 per kg, Business Standard reported.
Addressing the issue of inflation, Warsh was quoted by the newspaper as saying: "We must be confident that underlying inflation is moving to our objective, clearly and at sufficient speed. Otherwise, we have work to do. That’s our job."