Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty declined nearly one per cent on Wednesday, continuing their losing streak for the fourth day running amid profit-taking by cautious investors ahead of the results of the Lok Sabha polls and weak global trends.As many as 2,136 stocks declined while 1,680 advanced and 113 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 667.55 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 74,502.90 points. The index declined below the 75,000 mark to hit the day’s low of 74,454.55 points, plunging 715.9 points or 0.95 per cent. The BSE benchmark hit its all-time peak of 76,009.68 on May 27.

NSE Nifty dropped 183.45 points or 0.80 per cent to 22,704.70 amid high volatility. The 50-share barometer hit its lifetime high of 23,110.80 on Monday.

“Weak global cues prompted investors to take profits ahead of the US core PCE data, a key gauge of inflation that is anticipated to rise,” Vinod Nair, Head (Research), Geojit Financial Services.

Broad-based weakness is noticed across the sectors with heavy underperformance from financials and IT. The BSE midcap gauge declined 0.38 per cent, while smallcap index climbed 0.23 per cent.

“Markets continued their corrective trend for another session, losing over half a per cent. After an initial drop, Nifty fluctuated within a range and ultimately closed near the day’s low at 22,704.70 level.