New Delhi, May 23 -- The Indian stock market closed with sharp declines on Thursday, May 22, as escalating geopolitical tensions, worries about U.S. debt, and high valuations in domestic stocks prompted investors to pull back from riskier assets.

The Sensex dropped by 645 points, or 0.79%, ending at 80,951.99, while the Nifty 50 slipped 204 points, or 0.82%, to settle at 24,609.70. The BSE Midcap index declined by 0.33%, whereas the BSE Smallcap index managed a modest gain of 0.17%.

Sumeet Bagadia, Executive Director at Choice Broking, believes that the Indian stock market sentiment is positive as the Nifty 50 index is still above the crucial support placed at 24,500.

Speaking on the outlook of Indian stock market, Bagadia said, " On b...