Mumbai, Nov 19 (IANS) A key Indian equities index extended its losses Thursday afternoon and was ruling 269 points lower than its previous close.

The 30-share sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) opened little higher at 17,004.98 points, but soon fell to 16,928.11 points as trading commenced.

At 2.52 p.m., the index was trading at 16,729.12 points, down 269.66 points from its last close of 16,998.78 points.

Out of the 30 Sensex stocks, only one was in the green, while all others were ruling in the negative territory.

At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the S&P CNX Nifty fell below the 5,000-mark to rule at 4,971.85 points around the same time, with a loss of 1.64 percent, data with the exchange showed.

Broader market indices were also trading in the red, with the BSE midcap index ruling 2.05 percent lower and the BSE small cap index 1.36 percent.