Stock Market Today: Sensex Falls 199 Points; Nifty Settles Below 22,050. Realty, IT Drag

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro, HCLTech, NTPC, Reliance, Infosys, IndusInd Bank emerged losers. Tata Steel, Titan, Maruti, L&T, ITC, JSW Steel were among the gainers

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Tuesday closed in the red, tracking tepid global sentiment. The BSE Sensex dropped 199 points to 73,129. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 settled at 22,032, down, 65 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, Wipro, HCLTech, NTPC, Reliance, Infosys, IndusInd Bank emerged losers. On the flip side, Tata Steel, Titan, Maruti, L&T, ITC, JSW Steel were among the gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap index dropped 0.31 per cent while the BSE Smallcap index fell 0.43 per cent.

Sectorwise, Nfty Metal index gained 1 per cent. Oil & gas also advanced nearly 1 per cent each. On the other hand, Nifty Realty index declined 1.95 per cent, Nifty IT fell 1.3 per cent, and the Nifty Pharma dropped 1.14 per cent.

In the previous session on Monday, the S&P BSE Sensex closed at 73,328, up 759 points, while the NSE Nifty50 closed the day at 22,097, up 203 points.

"The broad market exhibited profit-booking following a good performance by the IT sector amid weak global cues. Investors are contemplating whether the current euphoria in markets has gone farfetched, especially with elevated domestic valuations in mid & small caps," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, and Hong Kong settled lower while Shanghai ended in the positive territory. European markets were trading lower. 

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.68 per cent to $78.68 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 1,085.72 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

Meanwhile, The rupee slumped 23 paise to 83.09 (provisional) against the US dollar on Tuesday, as a strong greenback against major rivals overseas and negative equity market dented investor sentiment. Besides, volatile crude oil prices in the international markets weighed on the domestic currency, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic currency opened at 82.95 and traded in the range of 82.92 to 83.09 against the greenback during intra-day. The unit finally settled at 83.09 (provisional) against the dollar, registering a loss of 23 paise from its previous close. On Monday, the rupee settled with a gain of 9 paise at 82.86 against the US dollar. This was the ninth consecutive day of gain for the Indian currency.