Sensex tanks 885 pts, Nifty retreats from 25K level
MUMBAI: Halting its five-day winning run, benchmark BSE Sensex plunged 885 points on Friday due to profit-taking in metal, auto and IT stocks in line with a global selloff triggered by weak US macro data.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 885.60 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 80,981.95 with 25 of its components declining and five ending with gains. During the day, it nosedived 998.64 points or 1.21 per cent to hit an intra-day low of 80,868.91. Retreating from its record 25,000 level, the broader Nifty of NSE plummeted 293.20 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 24,717.70. The 50-issue index fell 324.05 points or 1.29 per cent to 24,686.85 during the session.
From Sensex shares, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra,
HCL Technologies and Infosys were the laggards.
HDFC Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestle India and Asian Paints were among the gainers. “As global equity indices tumbled, investors in domestic markets too felt the heat and resorted to profit taking. The recent upsurge had made Indian stocks very expensive and hence correction was due for some time,” Prashanth Tapse, senior VP (Research), Mehta Equities Ltd said.
Among the indices, realty tumbled by 3.56 per cent, metal by 3 per cent, auto by 2.97 per cent, IT by 2.05 per cent, commodities by 1.83 per cent, teck by 1.79 per cent and capital goods by 1.70 per cent were the laggards. Healthcare was the only gainer Investors wealth eroded by Rs 4.46 lakh crore in a single-day on Friday. The market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies declined by Rs 4,46,003.7 crore to Rs 4,57,16,946.13 crore ($5.46 trillion).