The Stock Market continued the downward trend on Tuesday for the third consecutive session following losses in global equities.

Sensex was down 456.10 points, or 0.62%, at 72,943.68, and the Nifty was down 124.60 points, or 0.56%, at 22,147.90.

The benchmark indices declined amid looming threats of high interest rates, tensions in the Middle East, and in the backdrop of mixed economic data from China.

The largest decline among sectoral indices was the Nifty IT index that plunged 2.6% trailed by the Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Bank indexes, down 1.3% and 0.6%, respectively.

On the upside, the Nifty Media gained the most, rising 1.57%, followed by the Nifty Oil & Gas and the Nifty Pharma, which increased 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively.

Shares of LTIMindtree slumped 4.5% in intraday trade at Rs 4,660 after two senior managers resigned from the organisation. The stock of the company has slumped 9% in the last one month, while it slipped 25% year-to-date.

At BSE, 2,255 advanced, 1,566 declined, and 112 remained unchanged. While 308 stocks hit the upper circuit, 268 were on the lower circuit. Additionally, 170 stocks reached a 52-week high, while 17 touched their 52-week low.

The biggest losers on the Nifty included Infosys, LTIMindtree, IndusInd Bank and Bajaj Finserv, while the gainers were Eicher Motors, Hindustan Unilever, Oil & Natural Gas Corp. Titan Co., and Divi’s Lab.

Shares of Jio Financial Services Ltd jumped as much as 5% in intraday trading after the company announced an equal joint venture with BlackRock to launch a wealth management business.

Jio has delivered positive monthly returns consistently from November 2023 to March 2024. The Jio Financial Service Ltd made its debut on the stock exchanges in August 2023.

In the broader market, the BSE Smallcap gained 0.6% and BSE Midcap closed flat.

A quick recovery from lower levels helped the Midcap and Smallcap indexes to outperform the Nifty 50. A reversal can be expected as the index has formed a Spinning Top candlestick pattern at its long-term trendline support.

Amid Iran’s attack on Israel and the expected retaliation, crude oil prices may surge, influencing investor caution amid expensive valuations.

The markets will remain closed on Wednesday (April 17) on account of Ram Navami.