Indian equity benchmarks recorded a sharp drop in Tuesday's afternoon trading session amid profit booking at higher levels.

At last check, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack slumped 524.36 points or 0.68 per cent to 76,569.71 level, while the NSE Nifty50 index declined 172.75 points or 0.72 per cent to 23,930.15.

Broader indices were also seen trading in the red, with Nifty Midcap100 sliding 0.93 per cent and Nifty Smallcap100 falling 0.56 per cent.

Among the key contributors to the Sensex's decline were Infosys Ltd (RIL), HDFC Bank Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), State Bank of India (SBI), Tata Steel Ltd, Bharti Airtel Ltd, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd and Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL).

Ravi Singh, Chief Research Officer at Master Capital Services, said, "The market witnessed a sharp intraday reversal after a neutral start to the weekly expiry session. Nifty touched an intraday high near 24,135 but failed to sustain at higher levels and witnessed profit booking, slipping towards the 23,900 mark. The sudden decline was largely driven by broad-based selling across sectors, with metal and IT stocks emerging as the key laggards. Banking stocks also came under pressure, adding to the weakness in benchmark indices."

He added, "The Nifty Midcap 100 index, after hitting a fresh all-time high near 62,609, witnessed profit booking and moved lower during the session. The correction suggests that investors preferred to lock in gains after the recent rally rather than chase higher valuations."

For Nifty50, Singh stated that immediate support is placed around 23,800, while a break below this level could open the door for a deeper correction towards the 23,600 zone. Despite today's weakness, the broader trend remains positive unless these crucial support levels are decisively breached, he further said.

Echoing a similar view, Kranthi Bathini, Director of Equity Strategy at WealthMills Securities, stated that the market saw profit booking at higher levels, weighing on the benchmarks during the session.