Mumbai, Sep 15 (IANS) Indian benchmark indices ended sharply lower on Tuesday, with the sell-off intensifying in the final leg of the trading session as rising oil prices weighed on investor sentiment. Metal, realty and chemical stocks came under heavy selling pressure, dragging the headline indices lower.

The Sensex declined 777.94 points, or 1.04 per cent, to settle at 74,003.82, while the Nifty dropped 279.50 points, or 1.19 per cent, to close at 23,118.60.

Commenting on Nifty technical outlook, experts said that the Nifty decisively breached the 23,300 support level and is now approaching the psychological 23,000 mark.

“A sustained break below 23,000 could expose the index to further weakness towards 22,800, while 23,300–23,500 is likely to act as the first resistance band on any recovery,” a market expert noted.

Selling pressure was broad-based, with several heavyweight stocks ending in the red. Bharat Electronics (BEL), Shriram Finance and IndiGo emerged as the top losers on the Nifty index.

The broader market underperformed the benchmark indices, indicating stronger risk aversion among investors. The Nifty MidCap index fell 2.12 per cent, while the Nifty SmallCap index declined 2.43 per cent.

Sectoral performance was also largely negative, with realty stocks bearing the brunt of the selling pressure. The Nifty Realty index plunged 4 per cent to become the worst-performing sectoral index of the session, followed by the Nifty Chemical index.

In contrast, information technology stocks bucked the broader market trend. The Nifty IT index was the only sectoral index to end the session in positive territory, gaining around 2 per cent.

Meanwhile, Bank Nifty also slipped below 56,000, shifting attention to the next support near 55,500.

“The index now faces resistance in the 56,000–56,500 region,” market watchers noted.

–IANS

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