Mumbai, May 29 (IANS): The equity benchmarks in India closed in deep red on Wednesday due to profit booking by investors and mixed global cues – marking a decline for three consecutive days so far this week.

The Sensex was down 667 points or 0.89 per cent at 74,502, while the Nifty closed at 22,704, down 183 points or 0.80 per cent.

Banking index Nifty Bank also declined by more than 1 per cent to close at 48,501, down 640 points or 1.30 per cent.

The midcap and smallcap stocks performed better compared to the largecaps during the session on Wednesday.

The Nifty Midcap 100 index closed at 52,125 points, down 169 points or 0.32 per cent. However, the Nifty Smallcap 100 index increased by 10 points or 0.06 percent to close at 16,886 points.

Sector-wise, pharma and metal stocks were the major gainers, while auto, IT, PSU bank, FMCG, and realty were the major losers.

The India volatility index (India VIX) closed at 24.17 points on a day when 24 out of 30 Sensex stocks closed in the red.

Tech Mahindra, ICICI Bank, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, and Axis Bank were the top losers, while Power Grid, Sun Pharma, Nestle, ITC, and IndusInd Bank were the top gainers on Wednesday.

Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities, said: "The Bank Nifty index has demonstrated a clear shift in sentiment by opening below its support level at 49,000 and trading beneath it. It closed near its 21-day EMA at 48,400. If Bank Nifty fails to maintain above the 21-day EMA, further selling pressure may drive it down to 48,000."

"Consequently, 48,400 now serves as the support level for Bank Nifty, with 49,000 acting as the new resistance level," De added.