Sensex Sinks 890 Points, Nifty Below 17,000 As Omicron, Inflation Spook Investors

Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, and Adani Ports, down 3-4 per cent, were the biggest drags on benchmark indices

IT shares rose after Accenture reported strong quarterly numbers and upgraded its guidance. Image: Getty

New Delhi: Stocks across the board witnessed significant decline on Friday as fears about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, inflation concerns, and warnings over surging inflation from major central banks including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England spooked investors globally.

In an another Black Friday on Dalal Street, the key domestic equity benchmark, Sensex, plunged as much as 950 points to trade below 57,000 mark and Nifty 50 index tumbled below its important psychological level of 17,000.

The BSE Sensex eventually settled at 57,011, down almost 890 points, while the Nifty NSE crashed to a low of 16,966, and finally ended with a loss of 263 points at 16,985.

Both the indices — Sensex and Nifty — pared their losses helped by the IT sector, which continued to hold the fort against the market-wide selloff. IT shares rose after Accenture reported strong quarterly numbers and upgraded its guidance.

Among the blue-chip stocks, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, and Adani Ports, down 3-4 per cent, were the biggest drags on benchmark indices. Forty five stocks in the Nifty50 pack succumbed to negative territory. The five gainers were: Infosys, Wipro, HCL Tech, Hindalco, and JSW Steel.

The BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were down 2.4 per cent and 2.1 per cent, respectively. The overall breadth too was extremely negative, with more than two declining stocks for every advancing share on the BSE.

"Indices succumbed to the relentless FII selling this month as the Nifty skid below 17K with the IT Index being the only exception," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo ended with losses, while Seoul was positive.

Similarly, stock exchanges in Europe were also largely trading in the red in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 1.48 per cent to $73.91 per barrel.