Indian equity benchmarks witnessed their sharpest single-day decline since late March, with the Nifty slipping below 23,900 and the Sensex tumbling over 1,677 points, as escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and a sharp surge in crude oil prices triggered a broad-based selloff across sectors .

✅ Positives: Nifty Metal and Nifty Pharma indices outperformed other sectors despite ending lower, limiting their losses compared to the broader market . DIIs continued their buying spree, absorbing ₹2,969 crore of FII selling .

⚠️ Negatives: The Nifty Bank index plunged 4.87% (or 2,848 points) to 55,658, bearing the brunt of the selling pressure . FIIs offloaded shares worth ₹3,643 crore . The India VIX surged 25.47% to 14.54, reflecting heightened volatility . Brent crude surged 9.14% to $76.52 per barrel . Only 4 stocks in the Nifty 50 ended in positive territory . The rupee weakened to 95.58 . The Nifty PSU Bank index was among the worst-performing sectoral gauges .

🎯 What's next: The Nifty closed Wednesday at 23,882.05. Immediate support stands at 23,800, with a break below potentially inviting selling toward 23,500-23,600. Resistance is placed at 24,000. All eyes are on US-Iran ceasefire developments and crude oil price movement . Investors should remain cautious amid heightened volatility and focus on defensive sectors like pharma and FMCG .