Sensex crashes 900 points, Nifty 50 below 24,200, Bank Nifty down 400 points

On Wednesday, Indian stock market indices declined by about 1% each due to profit booking at higher levels. The Sensex dropped over 900 points, falling below the 79,600 level, while the Nifty 50 plunged more than 200 points, slipping below 24,200. Specifically, the Sensex hit an intraday low of 79,435.76, down 915.88 points, and the Nifty 50 reached a low of 24,141.80, down 291 points. Earlier in the day, the Nifty 50 had reached a record high of 24,461.05 during the opening trade.

The Bank Nifty index also experienced a near 1% decline, falling 491 points to a low of 52,077.90. The Banking index has decreased by 1.82% over the past week after hitting an all-time high of 53,357.7 earlier this month. Experts identified the 52,250-52,200 range as an immediate support level for today's session, which has been breached. The next support level is at 51,900.

All sectoral indices were trading in the red, with Nifty Auto, Nifty PSU Bank, Nifty IT, and Nifty Oil & Gas indices experiencing the most significant declines. Broader markets also saw intensified selling, with the Nifty Smallcap 100 and the Nifty Midcap 100 indices each falling over 1.5%.

The benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty 50, had hit record highs on Tuesday. However, profit booking at elevated levels, concerns over stretched valuations, caution ahead of Q1 results, and mixed global market cues weighed on investor sentiment.

V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, advised caution regarding the high level of speculative activity in the Smallcap space, where operators are driving up prices of shares with low floating stock. On the technical front, the Nifty breached a significant downside support level at 24,300.

Shrey Jain, Founder and CEO of SAS Online, noted the continued underperformance of the Bank Nifty relative to the Nifty. "For today’s weekly expiry, we expect Bank Nifty to consolidate around the 52,500 level. However, a pullback towards 52,250 could present a buying opportunity. We should await any directional moves that may arise from news events. A decisive break in either direction is likely to lead to trending moves," Jain stated.