Here are the five factors behind this slide:

1) US-China trade war

2) Hong Kong protests

3) Argentina’s currency crash

4) Weak Indian rupee

5) No decision on FPIs yet

(With agency inputs)

NEW DELHI: Equity indices plunged on Tuesday to finish in red with the benchmark BSE sensex crashing more than 600 points ahead of key retail or consumer price-based inflation data. Sensex nosedived 624 points or 1.66 per cent to close at 36,958; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 184 points or 1.65 per cent lower to settle at 10,926.Major laggards on the BSE index include Yes Bank, Bajaj Finance, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Bharti Airtel and HDFC with their shares down as much as 10.96 per cent. 27 stocks on the 30-share BSE index closed in red.On the NSE platform, all sub-indices witnessed losses with Nifty Auto and PSU Bank sliding as much as 3.95 per cent amid sell-offs in global equities. Auto stocks plunged after Siam (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers) reported that passenger vehicle sales witnessed its sharpest decline in nearly 19 years in July, rendering almost 15,000 workers jobless over the past two-three months.Retail inflation for July, released after market hours, marginally eased to 3.15 per cent from 3.18 per cent in June.Markets retreated on uncertainty over the US-China trade talks. Comments from US President Donald Trump throwing next month's planned trade talks into doubt, as well as his decision to unveil more tariffs on Chinese goods, sent equities tumbling last week and analysts at Goldman Sachs have said that they do not expect a deal before the 2020 US presidential election.Increasing unrest in Hong Kong pulled its markets lower as protests extended into a third month, with the city's airport -- a major world transport hub -- suspending all check-in operations on Tuesday. The airport had cancelled all flights in and out on Monday as thousands of demonstrators descended.Argentina become the latest focus of worries after primary elections, held on Sunday, that showed a surprisingly strong performance by the opposition candidate Alberto Fernandez and his running mate, former President Cristina Fernandez, raising fears over a potential return to their interventionist policies.The peso closed 15 per cent weaker at 53.5 per US dollar on Monday after plunging some 30 per cent to a record low earlier in the day, while the local Merval stock index closed 31 per cent weaker.The Indian rupee weakened, depreciated by 62 paise to 71.40 against the US dollar on Tuesday. Further, sell-offs are all pervasive across the sectors fuelled by less-than-inspiring corporate results and weakening rupee, market experts opined.Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday gave no indication at a meeting with foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) that she would withdraw a budget proposal to raise their taxes.Sitharaman is still widely expected to amend some budget proposals and announce new measures to boost economic growth, although an absence of any such announcement may be unnerving investors, Saurabh Jain, assistant vice-president of research at SMC Global Securities in Mumbai told news agency Reuters.“No concrete action has been taken so far, despite assurances from the finance minister and the prime minister’s office,” Jain added.Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth a net of Rs 203.73 crore on Friday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares worth Rs 606.92 crore, provisional data showed.Domestic markets were closed on Monday on account of Eid al-Adha.