Stock Market: Sensex Falls 241 Points, Nifty Settles Below 18,150 Tracking Weak Global Trends

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, L&T, Tata Steel, and others closed in the red

 The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday slump for 3rd straight session as fears of a global slowdown amid Covid-19 fears in China and likely recession in the US and Europe weighed.

The S&P BSE Sensex dropped 241 points to end at 60,826 levels in a broad-based sell-off. The Nifty50 gave up the 18,150-mark to close at 18,127, down 72 points. The domestic indices hit their respective lows of 60,637.24 and 18,068.60 during the day.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, L&T, Tata Steel, and others closed in the red. On the flip side, only six constituents, UltraCemco, Infosys, Asian Paint, Kotak Bank, Sun Pharma, Airtel were the only winners.

Sectorwise, the Nifty PSU Bank and Realty indices fell over 1 per cent, while the Nifty Auto, Private Bank, and Media indices declined 0.8 per cent each.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap index dipped 0.77 per cent, and the SmallCap counterpart slipped 1.8 per cent.

The rupee appreciated by 8 paise to close at 82.76 (provisional) against the US currency on Thursday following a weak greenback in overseas markets.

In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 635 points (1.03 per cent) to close at 61,067. On the other hand, the Nifty50 settled at 18,199, down 186 points (1.01 per cent).

Meanwhile, losses in domestic stocks and firm crude oil prices, however, restricted the rupee's gain, forex dealers said. The local currency opened higher at 82.78 at the interbank foreign exchange market after overnight losses in the greenback on improved risk sentiment.

The rupee moved in the range from 82.64 to 82.79 in the day trade before settling at 82.76 to a dollar, showing gains of 8 paise over the previous close.

Brent crude, the pricing basis for international trading, strengthened 1.58 per cent to $83.50 a barrel as US inventory data showed the Strategic Petroleum Reserve falling to 378.6 million barrels, its lowest level since 1983.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) turned net sellers in the capital markets on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,119 crore, according to exchange data.