Sensex drops 243 points to finish at three-month low after see-saw trade

The broader markets witnessed healthy buying interest as both mid-cap and small-cap indices ended higher by 0.5 per cent

In a highly volatile trading session, the markets opened on a firm note on Tuesday as the government expanded vaccine reach to people above 18 years, but more restrictions annou­nced by state governments dented sentiment and the benchmark indices pared all the morning gains and ended lower by 0.4-0.5 per cent.

The BSE Sensex slipped 243.62 points or 0.51 per cent to close the session at 47,705.80, the lowest close since January 29. Intraday, the BSE gauge rose as much as 529 points to touch the day's peak of 48,478.34.

Likewise, the Nifty climbed over 167 points to reclaim the key 14,500-level