New Delhi, May 22 -- The Indian stock market ended with significant losses on Thursday, May 22, as rising geopolitical tensions, mounting concerns over US debt and stretched valuations of domestic equities drove investors away from riskier equities.

The Sensex closed 645 points, or 0.79 per cent, down at 80,951.99, while the Nifty 50 closed 204 points, or 0.82 per cent, lower at 24,609.70. The BSE Midcap index fell 0.33 per cent, but the BSE Smallcap index rose 0.17 per cent.

Investors got poorer by about Rs.2 lakh crore in a single session as the cumulative market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms dropped to nearly Rs.439 lakh crore from Rs.441 lakh crore in the previous session.

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