MUMBAI: The Indian stock market closed on a bearish note on Wednesday with significant declines across major indices.
The Sensex fell by 984 points or 1.25 per cent to settle at 77, 690, while the Nifty dropped 324 points or 1.36 per cent to close at 23, 559.
This week so far, Sensex was down 1, 795 points or 2.26 per cent and Nifty was down 589 points or 2.44 per cent.
Sectors such as Metal, auto and banking faced substantial selling pressure, contributing to the overall market decline.
Due to the decline, the market cap of all the companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has declined by about Rs 6 lakh crore which now stands at Rs 430 lakh crore.
Along with large-cap, selling pressures were seen in the smallcap and midcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 1, 456 points or 2.64 per cent at 53, 800 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was down 532 points or 2.96 per cent at 17, 458.
Twenty-seven out of 30 Sensex stocks closed in the red.
M&M, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and L&D were the top losers. NTPC, Tata Motors and Infosys were the gainers.
Vikram Kasat from Prabhudas Lilladher said that the decline marked the indices' fifth straight session of losses amid persistent selling pressure from foreign institutional investors (FIIs), with broader market sentiment hampered by a confluence of factors shaking investor confidence.
"This latest downturn was intensified by sustained foreign investor outflows, disappointing corporate earnings, and rising inflation, " Kasat added.
Mandar Bhojane, Research Analyst at Choice Broking said, "On the technical front, a Bearish Engulfing pattern formed on the daily chart, highlighting the increased influence of bearish sentiment. The immediate support level is situated at 23, 650; if this level is breached, the index may slip further to 23, 400. On the upside, resistance remains robust, with selling pressure expected around the 24, 200 mark."