Mumbai, Jan 23 (IANS): Domestic equities opened positive on Tuesday, but soon drifted into the red after witnessing huge sell-off amid profit booking.

Nifty plunged 333 points (-1.5 per cent) to close at 21,239 levels, while Sensex fell 1,000 points (-1.47 per cent) to close at 70,370, said Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Retail Research at Motilal Oswal Financial Services.

Broader market witnessed a sharper fall with Midcap100/Smallcap100 down 3 per cent each. Pharma was the only sector which gained 1.7 per cent. Rest all sectors witnessed selling pressure with Media being the biggest loser at 13 per cent on the back of the Zee-Sony deal being called off, he said.

Nifty Realty too fell 5.3 per cent following weak results from Oberoi Realty. PSU Banks, Railways, and Power Utilities were some of the sectors which saw profit booking after witnessing sharp run-up in the recent past, he said.

Global sentiments turned cautious after the Fitch Group statement that South Asian economies would be most affected amid rising hostilities in the Red Sea due to Houthi attacks, and India’s economic forecast faces a significant risk on account of a prolonged spell of disruptions.

Further, Bank of Japan followed China and kept interest rates unchanged. Now investors are awaiting US GDP data due late on Tuesday along with ECB rate decision due later this week, he said.

On the domestic front, this week is a truncated week with just three trading days. Given weak global cues and mixed set of earnings released so far, the market is likely to consolidate and may drop a little further till the next set of fresh positive triggers, Khemka said.