The Indian equity benchmark indices closed lower, taking the steepest fall in three weeks.
The NSE Nifty 50 ended 309.80 points, or 1.32% down at 23,071.80, and the 30-stock BSE Sensex ended 1,015.25 points, or 1.31% lower at 76,296.55.
The NSE Nifty Bank also closed lower by 577.60 points or 1.16% at 49,403.40.
A strong comeback was made by the bears in the market after a slow start, as a sharp decline was seen across the board. At one point, the index breached even its psychological support level of 23,000, but did manage to recover slightly towards the end, settling at 23,071.80 with a loss of 309.80 points, said Aditya Gaggar director of Progressive Shares.
It was a broadly negative session, with all sectors ending in the red, with Realty and Media being the primary underperformers, he said.
The technical structure remains weak for the markets, with selling pressure mounting on every rise. It appears that the index is heading toward testing its previous support at 22,800, and if it breaks that level, it could slide further to 22,600. On the upside, 23,240 is seen as an immediate resistance level, Gaggar added.
Shares of Bharti Airtel Ltd., Adani Enterprises Ltd., Trent Ltd., Grasim Industries Ltd. and Hindalco Industries Ltd. cushioned the fall in the Nifty.
While those of Reliance Industries Ltd., HDFC Bank Ltd., Larsen & Toubro Ltd., ITC Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. dragged.
On NSE, all 12 sectors ended in red, with Nifty Realty, Media, Auto, PSU Bank, Energy and FMCG declining the most.
The broader markets also ended lower, with the BSE Smallcap falling 3.40% and BSE Midcap down 2.88%.
Market breadth was skewed in the favour of sellers. Around 3,475 stocks declined, 527 stocks advanced, and 95 remained unchanged on BSE.
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