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Indian equity indices closed in deep red on Thursday due to profit booking before the Lok Sabha election results.

Sensex was down 617 points or 0.83 per cent, at 73,885, and Nifty was down 216 points or 0.95 per cent, at 22,488.

Midcap and smallcap stocks were most affected by the fall in the trading session. The Nifty Midcap 100 index was down 698 points or 1.34 per cent to 51,426 points and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index was down 273 points or 1.62 per cent to 16,612 points.

Among the sector indices, IT, metal, auto, pharma, FMCG and realty index were major losers. Media and Pvt Bank index were major gainers.

India volatility index (India VIX) closed flat at 24.17 points.

Twenty-three out of the 30 Sensex stocks closed in the red.

Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Wipro, Power Grid and Bajaj Finserv were the top losers. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, SBI and L&T were the top gainers.

Vaibhav Vidwani, Research Analyst, Bonanza Portfolio, said: "Ahead of the general election results, which are expected to be announced on June 4, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) and individual traders are net long on index futures. It shows that there is a high possibility that the NDA will succeed."

"Additionally, profit booking is evident in the current market as investors seek to protect themselves against unexpected losses in this highly volatile market," Vidwani added.