Mumbai: Indian equity markets closed sharply lower on Tuesday as weak global cues and heavy selling in key sectors dragged sentiment. Investors turned cautious amid rising global uncertainty, leading to broad-based profit booking across sectors.
At the close, the Sensex fell 533.50 points (0.63 percent) to 84,679.86, while the Nifty dropped 167.20 points (0.64 percent) to 25,860.10.
Selling pressure dominates the session
Markets opened on a weak note and remained under pressure throughout the day. After the gap-down start, every rise saw selling, showing a lack of confidence among traders. On technical charts, the Nifty formed a bearish candle, suggesting the possibility of further weakness if key support levels break.
Market experts said fresh selling may intensify if the Nifty falls below 25,800 and the Sensex drops under 84,300. In that case, the indices could test lower levels of 25,700–25,650 on Nifty and 84,000–83,800 on Sensex. On the upside, resistance is seen near 25,920 for Nifty and 84,800 for Sensex.
Banking, metals and realty drag markets
Banking and financial stocks led the decline. Axis Bank and Eternal were the biggest losers on the Sensex, falling up to 5 percent. Other heavyweights such as HCL Technologies, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, and NTPC also ended more than 1 percent lower.
Real estate stocks faced the maximum pressure, with the Nifty Realty index falling 1.50 percent. Private banks and PSU banks also remained weak, while the Nifty IT index slipped 0.84 percent.
Limited support from select stocks
Gains were limited and selective. Titan and Bharti Airtel rose over 1 percent each, providing some support. Shares of M&M, Asian Paints, and Trent also closed in the green but could not offset the broader market losses.
Broader markets and rupee add to concerns
The weakness extended to the broader market as well. The Nifty Midcap 100 fell 0.83 percent, while the Nifty Smallcap index declined 0.92 percent.
Adding to the pressure, the Indian rupee weakened further, hitting a fresh all-time low of 91.01 against the US dollar, raising concerns over global uncertainty and capital flows.
