Mumbai, May 27 -- The domestic equity benchmarks declined sharply on Tuesday, ending their two-day winning streak. A mixed trend across Asian markets sparked profit booking in Indian equities. The Nifty50 once again struggled to break past the 25,000 mark, highlighting the lack of fresh positive triggers. Auto, IT, and FMCG stocks were among the biggest drags on the indices. However, mid- and small-cap stocks held up relatively well, buoyed by a cooling in premium valuations.

The S&P BSE Sensex tanked 624.82 points or 0.76% to 81,551.63. The Nifty 50 index slipped 174.95 points or 0.70% to 24,826.20.

ICICI Bank (down 0.92%), Reliance Industries (down 0.86%) and HDFC Bank (down 0.69%) were major drags.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE...