New Delhi, June 4 : The Indian indices went into a free fall on Tuesday with all the sectoral indices led by PSUs trading in deep red, as counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections entered a crucial phase.

While the Sensex shed nearly 6,000 points, about 8 per cent, to reach 70,397, the Nifty plunged 8.5 per cent, or nearly 2,000 points, to reach 21,329 (as of 12.30 p.m.).

The BSE-listed companies have erased a market cap of nearly Rs 44 lakh crore of investors' money so far on Tuesday.

The entire BSE Capital Goods index plummeted close to 10 per cent as early trends showed a diminished-majority win for the BJP-led NDA.

Earlier, the markets opened with a steep fall on Tuesday. In early trade, the Sensex slipped 2,713 points or 3.55 per cent, while the Nifty fell 838 points or 3.65 per cent.

The India volatility index (India VIX) was up 44 per cent at 33.33 points.

On Monday, the Sensex closed 2,507 points or 3.39 per cent higher at 76,468, while the Nifty ended 733 points or 3.25 per cent higher at 23,263, two days after most of the Exit Polls projected a comfortable victory for the BJP-led NDA in the Lok Sabha elections.

/IANS