Mumbai, May 27 : The Indian stock market closed in the red on Tuesday due to profit booking, driven by valuation concerns and weakness across the Asian markets.

At the end of trading, Sensex was down 624.82 points or 0.76 per cent at 81,551.63 and Nifty was down 174.95 points or 0.70 per cent at 24,826.20.

The decline was led by FMCG, IT, auto and metal sectors. Nifty Auto index closed down 0.70 per cent, Nifty IT index 0.75 per cent, Nifty Financial Service index 0.64 per cent and Nifty FMCG index 0.88 per cent.

Unlike largecap, buying was seen in smallcap and midcap indexes. The Nifty Midcap 100 index rose 87.25 points, or 0.15 per cent, to close at 57,154.50, and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index rose 17.35 points, or 0.10 per cent, to close at 17,725.15.

"The Nifty has been consolidating for the past 10'11 days, setting an indecisive tone among investors. However, the overall trend remains strong as the index continues to sustain above the short-term moving average,' said Rupak De from LKP Securities.

The short-term outlook remains positive, with the potential to reach the 25,000'25,150 range. On the lower end, support is placed at 24,700, he mentioned.

Markets had a volatile session, marked by sharp swings on both sides.

Sectoral performance was mixed. PSU banks and realty stocks stood out with positive momentum, while major weakness was visible in consumer goods, IT, auto, consumption and financial services sectors.

'All in all, today's session was a classic example of indecision, with bulls and bears both making bold attempts,' said Sundar Kewat from Ashika Institutional Equity.

Conversely, 'mid and smallcap segments remained relatively resilient, supported by better than estimated Q4 earnings and moderation in premium valuation,' added Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited.

On rupee's performance, Dilip Parmar from HDFC Securities said that in the near term, 'the spot USD-INR pair is anticipated to rise incrementally due to month-end adjustments and demand from oil importers. The pair faces resistance at 85.90 and has support at 84.80'.

/IANS