Mumbai: A benchmark index for Indian equities Wednesday closed 490 points lower -- its sixth consecutive negative session -- as selling sentiment spread throughout the market. Global bourses too were caught up in a selling frenzy, fuelled by fears of withdrawal of stimulus measures taken by their respective governments at the height of the financial crisis last year. The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 16,708.6 points, shut shop at 16,289.82 points, down 490.64 points or 2.92 percent from its previous close at 16,780.46 points. The chart showing the 52 week performance of Sensex is on the left. The Sensex has lost over 6.7 percent in a week's time. Heavyweight scrips ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, SBI and RIL were the main contributors to the Sensex's drag. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty too ended in the red at 4,853.1 points, against the previous close at 5,007.9 points, a loss of 3.09 percent or 154.8 points. Mid-to-small cap scrips saw heavier selling, with the BSE midcap index ending 3.98 percent down and the BSE small cap index 5.06 percent lower. Realty, metals, auto, and banking scrips were among the biggest losers even as downward pressure prevailed in major Europe and Asian markets. The market breadth was negative with only 338 stocks advancing, against 2,581 scrips declining and 25 remaining unchanged. There was only one gainer on the 30-scrip Sensex, ITC, up 0.39 percent at 255.85. Top losers included Tata Steel, down 8.48 percent at 558.70; DLF, down 7.83 percent at 317.05; Tata Motors, down 6.8 percent at 716; and Wipro, down 5.79 percent at 654.50. Most other Asian markets also ended in the red, with the benchmark Japanese index, Nikkei, closing 0.71 percent lower at 10,252.08 points, and the Korean Kospi ended 0.72 percent down at 1,625.48 points. The Chinese Shanghai composite index too was in the negative terrain, at 2,986.61 points, 1.09 percent down, while the Hang Seng of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shut 0.38 percent lower at 20,033.07 points. European markets, too, started trade on a weak note. At closing bell in Mumbai, FTSE 100, the benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange, was ruling 0.89 percent lower at 5,229.75 points, while the French index, CAC 40, was down 0.93 percent at 3,771.74 points. Its German peer, the DAX, was ruling 0.51 percent lower at 5,639.78 points.