Closing Bell on March 19: Indian equities tumbled across the board on Tuesday as investors waited for the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday. Besides, market regulator Sebi’s repeated warnings against “froth” in the broader market kept the overall sentiment in check.

The S&P BSE Sensex crashed 736 points, or 1.01 per cent, to end at 72,012 levels, while the Nifty50 shut shop at 21,817, down 238 points or 1.08 per cent.

TCS was the biggest laggard on the benchmark indices, down 4 per cent after Tata Sons likely sold about 0.6 per cent stake in the company. That apart, Nestle India, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Infosys, HCL Tech, ITC, Power Grid, Tech M, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, L&T, Asian Paints, SBI, Axis Bank, and Ultratech Cement were the other top losers. 

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices shed 1.36 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.

Among sectors, the Nifty IT index edged 2.9 per cent lower, the Nifty Media 2.45 per cent, and the Nifty Pharma, and FMCG 2.2 per cent each.