The slide in the Indian markets continued for the fifth consecutive day today. The benchmark index at the Bombay Stock Exchange closed at 15,896 with a loss of 156 points. The Sensex closed below the 16,000 mark for the first time in 36 sessions although the markets had opened higher following strong US and Asian cues but witnessed selling pressure in the second half of trade. The Sensex wiped out all its early gains on the back of sell-off in telecom, technology, power, capital goods and oil & gas exploration companies' shares. The National Stock Exchange, Nifty ended the day at 4712 with a loss of 39 points.