After two days of strong gains, the stock market saw a steady, broad-based decline throughout the session on Friday. The market opened in red and selling pressure increased gradually, ultimately closing with significant losses. The Sensex fell nearly 1,690.23 points or 2.25 per cent to close at 73,583.22, while the Nifty dropped 486.85 points to 22,819.60. Nearly all sectors closed in the red on Friday. PSU banks and realty, in particular, saw declines of more than 3 per cent. Auto, private banks, capital goods, and consumer durables also fell by around 2 per cent. Mid-cap and small-cap stocks also showed weakness, with the mid-cap index falling 2.2 per cent and the small-cap index falling 1.7 per cent.