Stock Market: Sensex Sheds 867 Points, Nifty Settles Below 16,450 Amid Weak Global Cues
Stock update: On the BSE, Wipro, HDFC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, TCS, IndusInd Bank, and Asian Paints were the other major losers. RIL was down 0.6 per cent ahead of its Q4 result
New Delhi: Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday wilted under intense selling pressure as the indices plunged sharply and settled in the red.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dived 866 points to finish at 54,835, while the broader NSE Nifty slumped 271 points to end at 16,411.
Mostly financial and IT stocks bore the brunt of the selling pressure. Bajaj Finance tanked 4.8 per cent, while Bajaj Finserv fell 3.5 per cent. On the other hand, Axis Bank shed 4 per cent and Nestle India also declined over 3 per cent.
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On the BSE, Wipro, HDFC, Infosys, HDFC Bank, UltraTech Cement, Titan, TCS, IndusInd Bank, and Asian Paints were the other major losers. Reliance Industries was down 0.6 per cent ahead of its Q4 results.
On the flip side, Tech Mahindra and PowerGrid Corporation rallied over 2 per cent each. ITC, SBI, and NTPC were the other main gainers.
The broader markets, BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices, were down over 2 per cent each. The overall breadth too was fairly bearish, with more than 2,500 declining stocks versus 850 advancing shares on the BSE.
On NSE, all of the 15 sector gauges ended in the red. The IT and Consumer Durables indices were the other major losers, down over 2 per cent each. The Auto, Bankex, and Healthcare indices dropped 1.7 per cent each.
On a weekly basis, the Sensex slumped 2,225 points (3.89 per cent), while the Nifty lost 691 points (4.04 per cent).
A total of 2,519 stocks declined, while 835 advanced, and 106 remained unchanged.
On Thursday’s session, the BSE Sensex closed marginally 33 points (0.06 per cent) higher at 55,702, while the NSE Nifty inched up 5.05 points (0.03 per cent) to 16,682.
"Markets were in southward direction right from the start of the trading session and selling intensified thereafter as rising crude oil prices reignited fears that inflation would pose a major challenge going ahead. The market is in a dilemma that in a rising interest rate scenario, a more hawkish stance by the RBI going ahead could hurt growth," Amol Athawale, deputy vice-president - Technical Research, Kotak Securities, told the PTI.
In Asian markets, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Korea settled significantly lower, while Tokyo ended higher. In Europe, exchanges were trading in the red in the afternoon session. Wall Street had plummeted in overnight trade on Thursday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.20 per cent to $113.3 per barrel.
Meanwhile, the rupee plummeted 57 paise to close at 76.92 (provisional) against the US dollar on Friday, weighed down by a strong American currency overseas and firm crude oil prices.
According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained in selling mode, offloading shares worth a net Rs 2,074.74 crore on Thursday.
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