Mumbai: Indian stock markets ended sharply lower on Tuesday, snapping a two-day winning streak as weakness in heavyweight IT, banking and healthcare stocks pulled benchmark indices down.
The BSE Sensex fell 479 points to close at 76,010, while the NSE Nifty declined 118 points to settle at 23,914, slipping below the important 23,950 level.
The Nifty Bank index also ended lower by 201 points at 55,093.
Heavyweight Stocks Drag Markets
Selling pressure was seen in major stocks such as Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, Tata Consultancy Services Limited, Wipro Limited, Bharti Airtel Limited and Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited.
These stocks erased the early gains seen during morning trade and pushed benchmark indices into negative territory by the close.
Metal Stocks Shine
Despite weakness in frontline indices, broader markets remained strong.
The Midcap index gained 332 points to close at 62,299, outperforming benchmark indices.
Among sectoral indices, Nifty Metal emerged as the top-performing sector. Shares of Hindustan Zinc Limited rose more than 2 percent, supporting gains in the metal pack.
From the Sensex basket, key gainers included Adani Enterprises Limited, Tech Mahindra Limited, Nestle India Limited, Bajaj Auto Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited.
Stock-Specific Action
Container Corporation of India Limited fell 7 percent after reporting weak quarterly earnings. Its Q4 net profit declined 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 259.3 crore.
Rail Vikas Nigam Limited dropped 5 percent after posting a 60 percent fall in quarterly net profit to Rs 188 crore.
On the positive side, Marksans Pharma Limited jumped 12 percent after reporting strong Q4 earnings and margin expansion.
Astra Microwave Products Limited gained 10 percent after reporting a 44.4 percent rise in net profit to Rs 106 crore during the March quarter.
