New Delhi [India], March 4 (ANI): Indian stock indices closed sharply lower on Wednesday, as US-Iran tensions intensified.

The NIFTY ended at 24,480.50, down 385.20 points or 1.55 per cent. The index opened at 24,388.80 and touched an intraday high of 24,602.45 before sliding to a low of 24,305.40 during the session.

Meanwhile, the BSE SENSEX closed at 79,116.19, declining 1,122.66 points or 1.40 per cent. The share index had settled at 80,238.85 in the previous session. On Wednesday, it opened significantly lower at 78,528.82, hit a high of 79,527.41, and slipped to a low of 78,443.20.

According to Sudeep Shah, Head of Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, 'Nifty opened with a sharp gap down of nearly 500 points amid escalating US-Israel-Iran tensions. However, the index traded within a tight range for most of the session and eventually settled at 24481, down 1.55%. With today's close, Nifty has decisively broken below the crucial 24,570-24,600 support zone on the daily chart, a region that had witnessed strong buying interest on the previous two occasions. The RSI has settled around the 30 mark, signalling bearish momentum, while the widening DI lines indicate a strong dominance of sellers over buyers.'

On the sectoral front, Shah said, 'Nifty IT ended the day as the lone sectoral gainer, ending with a modest gain of 0.11%. Rupee hitting a record low of 92, could have possibly weighed on IT sector's sentiment. On the other hand, Nifty Metal, ended the day as the top sectoral loser, followed by Nifty PSU Bank, which has now given consecutive lower close on the daily chart. With regards to stocks, Coal India & Bharti Airtel emerged as the top stock gainers amongst the Nifty pack while Tata Steel & TMPV emerged as the top two losers.'

'The Midcap and Small cap indices too opened weak and extended their decline in the first half before recovering some ground later in the session. Despite the pullback, both indices ended with losses of over 2%, underperforming the frontline indices,' Shah added.

Commenting on the market, Shah stated that, 'The market breadth deteriorated further as the advance-decline ratio was heavily tilted in favour of bears at day's close. A total of 440 stocks out of the Nifty 500 universe ended in the red. Going ahead, the immediate support for Nifty is placed in the 24350-24300 zone. This zone acted as a strong support in the month of August 2025. Any sustainable move below this zone could result in Nifty extending its weakness towards 24100, followed by 23800 in the short term. On the upside, the zone of 24650-24700 zone is likely to act as an immediate resistance.'

'Bank Nifty also opened gap down and largely remained range-bound through the day, closing at 58755, down 1.81%. The index has now slipped below its 100-day EMA on the daily chart. Notably, with today's move, Bank Nifty has fully filled the 1106-point gap that was created on 3rd February on the back of India-US Trade deal,' he added.

He stated that, 'For Bank Nifty, the immediate support is placed in the 58200-58100 zone. Any sustainable move below this zone could result in Bank Nifty extending its weakness towards 57700, followed by 57300 in the short term. On the upside, the zone of 59200-59300 zone is likely to act as an immediate resistance.' (ANI)