Indian stock market benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty 50, faced significant losses on January 3 due to profit booking and a strengthening US dollar. The Sensex dropped over 700 points, while the Nifty 50 fell 200 points amid selling pressure across several sectors.

The maximum return by Sensex in any odd year stood at 93.98 per cent against 50.68 per cent in the even year. The maximum fall for Sensex stood at 24.64 per cent in the odd year against 52.45 per cent in the even year.

BSE Sensex and Nifty50, the Indian equity benchmark indices, tanked in trade on Friday. While BSE Sensex went below 79,400, Nifty5

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty buckled under selling pressure to settle nearly 1 per cent lower on Friday as investors pared exposure to bank and IT stocks ahead of the earnings season star

The BSE Sensex fell 614 points, or 0.77 per cent to close at 79,330.14. Nifty declined 168.80 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 24,019.85. This is even as 2,136 BSE-listed stocks gained against 1,499 that slid so far.

Even as the Indian stock market benchmark Sensex crashed over 700 points, or nearly 1%, almost 200 stocks hit their fresh one-year highs in intraday trade on the BSE on Friday, January 3. HCL Tech, Mahindra and Mahindra,

Falling IT, pharma, healthcare, and bank stocks caused the stock market to crash during the later trading hours

The downturn highlights the persistent volatility on Dalal Street, with investors uncertain about the short-term market trajectory. While auto and IT stocks had propelled a rally just a day ago, profit booking amid prevailing uncertainty appears to have weighed heavily on sentiment.