At close, the Sensex was down 1,045.60 points or 1.99% at 51,495.79, and the Nifty was down 331.60 points or 2.11% at 15,360.60, as investors read through the fine print of the US Federal Reserve's policy statement. Reliance Industries was the top Sensex gainer, followed by Maruti Suzuki India, and ICICI Bank. Power Grid was the top laggard, accompanied by Bharti Airtel and Nestle India. About 607 shares have advanced, 2680 shares declined, and 97 shares are unchanged. Cyclical sectors were the worst hit amid fears of a global slowdown with the Nifty Metal index cracking 5 percent. The Nifty Realty, Auto, Bank, and IT indices fell over 2 percent each. In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined up to 2.87 percent.