The benchmark Sensex Index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has fallen 40 points during a special two-hour trading session as investors looked to invest in large firms in healthcare and metal sectors.

The 30-share Sensex had crossed the 20,000 mark yesterday after three months. The index added 39.70 and closed at 20,122.32 on Friday. Investors were looking to pick-up blue chip shares in the stock exchange yester in selected sectors and this led to an increase in the index. Experts said that the trade volume remained low and investors looked to take advantage of the special trading session to pick up lesser number of strong shares in the market.

On the other hand, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty rose12.50 points to 6,107.25 during the secession. There was a special trading session between 11 15 and 12 45 pm in the derivatives, cash and Securities Lending and Borrowing Scheme (SLB) segments from its disaster recovery site on Saturday.

The growth in NSE was led by pharmaceutical and metal sectors as by Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, and ITC Ltd rose strongly ahead of their quarterly results. Shares of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories increased 3.85 per cent, while ITC shares were trading 0.28 per cent higher.