The trends on Gift Nifty also indicate a gap-down start for the Indian benchmark index. The Gift Nifty was trading around 24,190 level, a discount of nearly 92 points from the Nifty futures’ previous close.

The Sensex tumbled 721 points to settle at 79,223, while the Nifty dropped 184 points, ending the session at 24,004. Financial stocks led the decline, with HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank emerging as the biggest drags on the Nifty.

The equity benchmark indices continued their upward trend for the second day in a row, with the Sensex rising by 1,436 points to close at 79,944, and the Nifty climbing 446 points to 24,189.