Explained: What dragged Sensex down 715 points and pushed Nifty below 24,000

Indian equity benchmarks ended in the red on Wednesday (July 22), with the BSE Sensex falling 715 points to 76,755 and the Nifty 50 declining 191 points to 23,996, slipping below the 24,000 level.

Selling was broad-based, with nearly 40 Nifty constituents ending lower, while the Nifty Bank index dropped 709 points to 57,127. The Nifty Midcap Index also declined 687 points to 62,301.

Here are the key reasons behind today's market decline:Heavyweights and IT stocks remained under pressure

Large-cap stocks continued to weigh on the benchmarks, with information technology shares trading lower alongside Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, dragging the major indices.

Pharma stocks fell after Trump's tariff comments

Pharmaceutical stocks came under pressure after comments by U.S. President Donald Trump on tariffs for generic drugs. Lupin and Aurobindo Pharma were among the biggest losers in the sector.

Crude oil movement, competition concerns hit IndiGo

InterGlobe Aviation, the parent of IndiGo, emerged as the top loser in the Nifty index, tracking crude oil movement and competition-related concerns.

Mixed earnings triggered sharp stock-specific moves

Nestle India gained 3% after reporting an all-round beat in its first-quarter results. TVS Motor Company and Bajaj Auto advanced following strong first-quarter earnings and positive management commentary.

Eternal recovered despite reporting mixed first-quarter results, with positive commentary supporting the stock. Oracle Financial Services Software fell 7% ahead of its quarterly earnings announcement.

SRF declined more than 3% despite reporting a quarterly earnings beat. Adani Green Energy and Adani Power traded lower following their quarterly results.

Banks, oil marketing companies under pressure

Bandhan Bank plunged 17% after cutting its return on assets (RoA) guidance and reporting mixed first-quarter results. Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL) fell more than 2% after reporting a quarterly loss, while other oil marketing companies also ended lower.

Other notable movers

Tips Music ended 12% lower after deferring its buyback proposal. Kalyan Jewellers extended its rally and is now up 54% this month.

Market breadth remained weak, with the advance-decline ratio at 2:5, indicating declines outnumbered advances across the broader market.

From the Sensex basket, Bajaj Auto Ltd, TVS Motor Company Ltd, Nestle India Ltd, Tata Consumer Products Ltd, Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd and Hindustan Unilever Ltd were the major gainers.

InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd, Jio Financial Services Ltd, Max Healthcare Institute Ltd, Infosys Ltd and State Bank of India were the biggest laggards.