The Sensex drifted further from early losses by 196.26 points, while the broader Nifty slid below the crucial 8,000—level in late morning deals in a flurry of stocks sale.

The across—the—spectrum selling was witnessed in metal, financials, banks, capital goods, power, telecom, consumer durables, IT and teck sectors amid weak Asian stocks.

Heavy FII outflows ahead of key US and ECB economic data later today, coupled with mute sentiment ahead of holidays, bumped the trading momentum.

The NSE 50—share Nifty also dropped by 62.35 points, or 0.77 per cent, to go below the key 8,000—level at 7,998.95 1050 hours.

Major losers were Tata Steel 2.37 per cent, Adani Ports 1.94 per cent, SBIN 1.90 per cent, Axis Bank 1.59 per cent and Bharti Airtel 1.54 per cent.

Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 1,178.08 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.

Overseas, Asian markets suffered modest losses after an overnight lacklustre performance on Wall Street, with investors looking at US economic data later in the day for potential catalysts even as markets started winding down ahead of the holidays.

US stocks closed modestly lower yesterday as the market traded in a relatively tight range amid thinning volumes ahead of the December holidays.