Mumbai, April 12 (IANS): The BSE Sensex plunged almost 800 points on Friday amid heavy selling in frontline stocks.

While the Sensex closed 793 points, or 1.06 per cent, down at 74,244.90, the Nifty ended Friday with a significant loss of 234 points, or 1.03 per cent, at 22,519.40.

Almost all sectoral indices ended in the red and the market breadth in the negative territory with 60 per cent of the stocks declining.

Among the Sensex losers, Sun Pharma was down 4 per cent, while Maruti was down by more than 3 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said the Indian markets consolidated amid worries over delayed US rate cuts, escalating Middle East tensions driving oil prices up, and subdued Q4 earnings projections.

Investors are questioning the feasibility of the US Fed's anticipated three rate cuts this year, leading to underperformance in the emerging markets.

Meanwhile, the European markets excelled as the ECB maintained policy rates but hinted at a potential rate cut soon, Nair said.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said the Nifty slipped lower as it experienced a consolidation breakdown in the lower timeframe. The sentiment appears somewhat negative for the short term. However, there is observed support at 22,500 on a closing basis.

“As long as it maintains above 22,500 on a closing basis, we do not anticipate a significant correction in the market. Sustained trading above 22,500 could potentially push the index towards 22,650-22,700 once more. Conversely, a drop below 22,500 might initiate a correction of 200-250 points on the downside," he said.