The Indian market lost a substantial ground today which saw both Sensex and Nifty dropping below their psychologically important 6000 and 20000 levels respectively. Metal was the worst affected today in the market play which saw all sectors closing in the negative zone. Sensex shut shop at 19691, in the negative by 492 points since its previous close, while Nifty dropped to 5904, in the negatiev by 143 points. The CNX Midcap index was down 2.5% and the BSE Smallcap index was down 3%. The market breadth was negative with advances at 126 against declines of 1197 on the NSE.