23.06.202610:47:28UTC+00Sensex Closes Sharply Lower

India’s BSE Sensex closed about 1.2% lower at 76,201 on Tuesday, erasing the previous session’s gains as investors booked profits across IT, metals, banking, and financial stocks. Sentiment weakened on the back of persistent foreign fund outflows, expectations of higher-for-longer US interest rates, and softer domestic business activity data.

A flash PMI survey indicated a slowdown in India’s private sector expansion in June, with services activity slipping to a 17‑month low and manufacturing output easing to a three‑month low. The IT sector bore the brunt of the selloff amid a global tech rout, after Jefferies and Morgan Stanley flagged soft demand signals following Accenture Plc’s muted outlook. Infosys and TCS each declined more than 3%.

In metals, Tata Steel dropped 2.7%, tracking weaker global metal prices and reflecting concerns about a potential US Federal Reserve rate hike. Among lenders, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank fell 1.5% and 1%, respectively.

Bucking the broader trend, select pharmaceutical names advanced. Sun Pharma rose 0.2% after reports that the US regulator had approached Indian drugmakers to supply a key cancer treatment drug.