Stock market today: Why Sensex plunged 893 points; Nifty dropped to 23,824

Indian equity benchmarks witnessed a sharp decline on Tuesday amid profit booking at higher levels and weak cues from Asian markets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex pack slumped 893.39 points or 1.16 per cent to close at 76,200.68, while the NSE Nifty50 index declined 278.80 points or 1.16 per cent to settle at 23,824.10.

Broader indices also ended in the red, with Nifty Midcap100 sliding 1.05 per cent and Nifty Smallcap100 falling 0.48 per cent.

Among the key contributors to the Sensex's decline were HDFC Bank Ltd, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Infosys Ltd, ICICI Bank, State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Bharti Airtel Ltd, Tata Steel Ltd and Larsen & Toubro Ltd (L&T).

Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Master Capital Services, said, "The market witnessed a sharp intraday reversal after a neutral start to the weekly expiry session. Nifty touched an intraday high near 24,135 but failed to sustain at higher levels and witnessed profit booking, slipping towards the 23,900 mark. The sudden decline was largely driven by broad-based selling across sectors, with metal and IT stocks emerging as the key laggards. Banking stocks also came under pressure, adding to the weakness in benchmark indices."

He added, "The Nifty Midcap 100 index, after hitting a fresh all-time high near 62,609, witnessed profit booking and moved lower during the session. The correction suggests that investors preferred to lock in gains after the recent rally rather than chase higher valuations."

For Nifty50, Singh stated that immediate support is placed around 23,800, while a break below this level could open the door for a deeper correction towards the 23,600 zone. Despite today's weakness, the broader trend remains positive unless these crucial support levels are decisively breached, he further said.

Echoing a similar view, Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, stated that the market saw profit booking at higher levels, weighing on the benchmarks during the session.