Even as domestic equity benchmarks extended their losing streak on Tuesday, select metal counters managed to buck the weak market trend and emerged as gainers. Stocks such as Vedanta Ltd, Hindustan Zinc Ltd and Hindalco Industries Ltd rose up to 2.53 per cent during the session, even as the Nifty Metal sub-index ended 0.35 per cent lower.

The market remained under heavy pressure. The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 1,456.04 points or 1.92 per cent to settle at 74,559.24. The NSE Nifty50 index slumped 436.30 points or 1.83 per cent to close at 23,379.55.

Select sectors including metals showed relatively better resilience compared to the broader market, although it too ended in negative territory, said Hitesh Tailor, Technical Research Analyst at Choice Equity Broking.

Among sectoral indices, information technology (IT) stocks witnessed the sharpest correction, with the Nifty IT sub-index tumbling 3.73 per cent.

Explaining the sharp fall in IT shares, Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Mastertrust, said, "IT stocks fell sharply amid heavy pressure after OpenAI's latest enterprise push, as investors started questioning how AI could reshape the traditional IT services model over the next few years. The biggest concern is that AI platforms are now becoming capable of handling a lot of repetitive work -- from coding and testing to support and workflow automation -- which has historically been manpower-driven for Indian IT companies. That naturally raises concerns around future hiring, billing growth, and pricing power, especially in low-complexity outsourcing work."

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"Market is worried that if companies increasingly shift toward AI-led solutions, spending on conventional IT services could slow gradually over time. That said, the market reaction also seems a bit emotional in the short term. Large IT firms are already investing aggressively in AI, building their own tools, and partnering with global AI platforms to stay relevant in the next phase of technology spending. So while the near-term sentiment may remain weak, this appears more like an industry transition than a long-term threat to the sector itself," he added.

Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at WealthMills Securities, noted that the AI play is largely missing in Indian IT companies, with large-cap firms underperforming. He added that the AI theme remains a key driver for the sector.

Nifty outlook

On the technical outlook for the benchmark index, Sudeep Shah, Head - Technical and Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, said, "Going ahead, the 23,530–23,550 zone is expected to act as a crucial resistance for the index. As long as Nifty50 sustains below the 23,550 mark, the prevailing bearish trend is likely to persist, potentially dragging the index lower towards 23,200, with the possibility of further downside extending to 23,050 level."