 "Sensex falls 1,000 pts in 2 days, Nifty below 22K: 3 reasons for sell-off")
Stock market updates: Indian equity markets were seen nursing losses in Thursday's intraday trade as investors booked profit for a second consecutive day.
The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex dropped 542 points intraday to hit a low of 72,081 levels. On Wednesday, the index ended little over 400 points lower, a day ahead of the weekly F&O expiry.
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The Nifty50, meanwhile, slipped below the 22,000-mark to a low of 21,875, suffering a loss of over 100 points.
In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were seen swinging on either side of the flat line.
Here's a look at the key reasons for Thursday's downfall:
HDFC Bank, Airtel, SBI slip: Heavyweights across sectors were on a downward spiral on Thursday led by Bharti Airtel (down 2 per cent), Bajaj Finance, (1.7 per cent), HDFC Bank (1.5 per cent), HUL (1.46 per cent), State Bank off India (1.4 per cent), Kotak Mahindra Bank (1.3 per cent), and Bajaj Finserv (1 per cent).
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These stocks carry weight between 3 per cent and 13 per cent on the Sensex.
The S&P BSE Sensex had climed 1,500 points in five sessions (till February 20), while the Nifty50 had jumped over 500 points. The twi indices have, thus, entered profit booking mode over the past two days.
Hawkish US Fed minutes: The US Federal Reserve policymakers have signaled no urgency to pivot to rate cuts as concerns of "upside risks" to inflation begin to emerge, according to the minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting.
In a further sign that the Fed isn't leaning toward a sooner rate cut, the minutes of the meeting (held on January 30-31) showed that Fed members had expressed "uncertainty associated with how long a restrictive monetary policy stance would need to be maintained."
This has sent the yields on 10-year Indian Government bonds around 10-basis points higher today to 7.056 per cent.
Technical levels: With Wednesday's selling the benchmark indices have formed bearish candles on the daily charts, indicating further weakness from current levels below 21,950/72,350.
"For day traders, 22,200-22,275/73,150-73,300 would act as an important resistance zone. As long as the market trades above 21,950/72,350, the bullish sentiment is expected to continue. However, if it falls below 21,950/72,350, the index may retest 21,850-21,750/72,100-71,800 levels," said Shrikant Chouhan, Head-Equity Research, Kotak Securities.
On the other hand, if it crosses 22,275/73,300, the index may move to 22,400-22,500/73,750-74,000.