Mumbai, March 26: After seven consecutive sessions of gains, the Indian stock markets ended lower on Wednesday as investors booked profits across sectors.

Sensex fell by 728.69 points, or 0.93 per cent, to close at 77,288.50. During the session, the index fluctuated between an intra-day high of 78,167.87 and a low of 77,194.22.

Nifty also declined, settling 181 points lower at 23,486.85, down 0.77 per cent. The index had touched an intra-day high of 23,736.50 before slipping to a low of 23,451.70.

"On the smaller time frame, the Nifty index has dropped below the near-term moving average,” said Rupak De of LKP Securities. On the lower end, support is placed at 23,300, up to which the current decline might extend.

“However, any fall below 23,300 might raise questions about the recent sharp rally from 21,964. Resistance is placed at 23,550, above which sentiment might improve," De mentioned.

Except for IndusInd Bank, Power Grid Corp, Titan Company and Mahindra & Mahindra, all other 26 stocks in the BSE Sensex closed in the negative territory, with losses reaching up to 3.45 per cent.

Mid and small-cap stocks also saw losses, with the Nifty Midcap100 index closing 0.62 per cent lower and the Nifty Smallcap100 index dropping 1.07 per cent.

Among sectoral indices, all except Nifty Auto ended in the red, reflecting a broad-based sell-off. Among them, Nifty PSU Bank, IT, Financial Services, Healthcare, Realty, and Oil & Gas declined by over 1 per cent each.

However, Nifty Auto managed to post a slight gain of just 0.02 per cent. The decline was primarily driven by profit booking after the recent market rally, as investors chose to cash in on their gains.

Despite the dip, analysts believe the long-term market outlook remains positive, supported by strong economic fundamentals and corporate earnings growth.

Meanwhile, the Nifty and Sensex have gained 5.7 per cent over the last seven sessions, turning positive for the year, driven by foreign capital inflows and growing optimism about improving domestic macroeconomic conditions. (IANS)

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