Mumbai, July 8 (IANS) Indian benchmark equity indices witnessed their sharpest single-day decline in more than three months on Wednesday as escalating tensions in West Asia dampened investor sentiment and sparked a broad-based selloff across sectors.

The Sensex plunged 1,677.12 points, or 2.15 per cent, to close at 76,503.60, while the Nifty dropped 516.65 points, or 2.12 per cent, to settle at 23,882.05.

Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the 24,000 region is now expected to act as the immediate resistance zone, followed by the 24,200 level.

“A sustained move above these levels will be required to improve the near-term technical structure,” a market expert stated.

“On the downside, the 23,800 zone remains a crucial support level. A decisive break below this region could intensify selling pressure and drag the index towards the 23,600–23,500 zone,” as per the market analyst.

The sharp fall came as risk appetite weakened after renewed geopolitical uncertainty in West Asia rattled global financial markets.

Investor concerns intensified after US President Donald Trump said the ceasefire with Iran was over, although negotiations could continue following an exchange of strikes by both sides in the Strait of Hormuz.

The heightened tensions prompted investors to reduce exposure to equities, resulting in widespread losses across the market.

Among the Nifty constituents, Jio Financial Services, InterGlobe Aviation and Shriram Finance emerged as the biggest laggards. Only four stocks in the benchmark index managed to end the session in positive territory, while the remaining constituents closed lower.

The decline was broad-based across sectors, with banking stocks bearing the brunt of the selling pressure. The Nifty PSU Bank and the Nifty Bank indices were the worst-performing sectoral gauges during the session.

Meanwhile, the Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma indices outperformed other sectors despite ending lower, limiting their losses compared to the broader market.

–IANS

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