The market fell sharply as selling emerged in index heavyweights like ITC and Infosys with the BSE Sensex plunging 336.17 points or 0.92 per cent to settle at 36,108.47.

The Nifty 50 was down 91.25 points or 0.84 per cent to close at 10,831.50. The BSE Mid-Cap fell 0.28 per cent and Small-Cap was down 0.16 per cent.

The market breadth was negative as 1,068 shares rose and 1,477 shares fell. Among the sectoral indices on the BSE, FMCG was down 1.38 per cent, Power was down 1.24 per cent and the S&P BSE Consumer Durables was down 1.16 per cent, all underperformed the Sensex. The Metal Index was up 0.63 per cent.

Technical view

Sameet Chavan, chief analyst-technical & derivatives, Angel Broking, said: “It seems that markets are a bit unsure about their near term direction. One day we see index trading with immense strength and then there is no follow up move. Post recent breakout from a ‘Diamond’ pattern, index consolidated for few days. Monday’s close above 10,950 kept the hopes alive. But, Wednesday’s sharp selloff in ITC post its quarterly numbers has poured complete water on it. Within last 45 minutes of trade, we are back to the previous breakout points of 10,830.

“All eyes would now be on key support zone of 10,800–10,770. As long as we are convincingly above it, there is no major reason to worry for. But a sustainable breach of this support would aggravate the selling momentum. On the flipside, 10864 followed by 10905 would be seen as immediate hurdles.

Market view

Mustafa Nadeem, CEO, Epic Research, said: “The Nifty falls as dismal data from the global markets spoil the buffet for bulls with a flavour of volatility. 10,980-11,000 continues to haunt the bulls as higher PCR also indicates the jitteriness in short term ahead of budget.

“Wednesday’s fall can be looked in as a possible pullback from the recent break of a symmetrical triangle. The point of inflection for the price action on the upside is at 10,980.”

—Ashwin Punnen