Sensex Tanks Over 700 Points, Slips Below 58,500-Mark; Nifty Tests 17,400: Indian equity benchmarks continued to decline for the fifth consecutive session on Monday amid weak global cues. Asian stock markets slipped badly. Major benchmark indices went into free fall mode as market participants resorted to heavy selling on appointments on IPO valuations, cancellation of RIL-Saudi Aramco deal and continued selling by foreign investors.
Sensex Tanks Over 700 Points, Slips Below 58,500-Mark; Nifty Tests 17,400
As of 11:07 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack was down 710 points or 1.20 per cent at 58,327 and the broader NSE Nifty was down 208 points or 1.18 per cent at 17,409. The BSE benchmark index, Sensex, touched a high of 59,778 during its extremely brief stay in positive territory this morning, after the index slipped to its all-time low as the day progressed. The BSE benchmark plunged 1,766 points to a low of 58,012 in intra-day trades.
Mid- and small-cap stocks were in negative territory as Nifty Midcap 100 index was trading 1.42 per cent lower and small-cap stocks 2.09 per cent lower. Bajaj Finserv was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, falling 2.59 per cent, followed by Infosys, Dr Reddy’s, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Wipro and IndusInd Bank.
Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, Capitalvia Global Research Ltd. said, “With the gap-down opening tracking weak global cues, the bearish trend is likely to continue in the markets. Our research suggests 17,500-17,450 levels. This could act as an important support level in the market. If the market sustains above the level of 17,500, we can expect the market to trade in the range of 17,450-17,800.”
On the stock-specific front, JSW Steel was the top gainer in the Nifty as the stock lost 3.41 per cent to ₹643.55. Divi’s Lab Hindalco, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Life were also among the laggards. Whereas, IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, NTPC and Reliance Industries were among the winners.
Elsewhere in Asia, shares in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with deep losses in mid-session deals. Stock exchanges in the US witnessed heavy selling in the overnight session. Meanwhile, POWERGRID and HUL were the only gainers.
International oil benchmark Brent crude fell 2.03 per cent to $86.59 a barrel. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 4,679.84 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.
