Mumbai, Oct 24: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty plunged more than 1 per cent on Monday, falling for the fourth day running, amid weak trends in global markets in view of heightened tensions in the Middle East.
Crude oil quoting above USD 90 a barrel mark also played spoilsport for the markets.
In a broad-based sell-off, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 825.74 points or 1.26 per cent to settle at 64,571.88. During the day, it plummeted 894.94 points or 1.36 per cent to 64,502.68.
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A total of 3,196 firms declined, while 638 advanced and 156 remained unchanged on the BSE.
The Nifty fell 260.90 points or 1.34 per cent to 19,281.75.
“Benchmark indices witnessed severe pounding in the last hour trades as simmering geo-political tension in the Middle-East region triggered a wave of selling pressure and prompted investors to offload equity holdings.
“Investors are already worried about further interest rate hikes and inflation, and with the addition of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the uncertainty has increased further and leading to weak sentiment in global equities,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
In the four sessions since Wednesday, Sensex tanked 1,925 points to fall below the 65,000 mark, while Nifty plunged by around 530 points.
“Benchmark indices witnessed severe pounding in the last hour trades as simmering geo-political tension in the Middle-East region triggered a wave of selling pressure and prompted investors to offload equity holdings.
“Investors are already worried about further interest rate hikes and inflation, and with the addition of the Israel-Hamas conflict, the uncertainty has increased further and leading to weak sentiment in global equities,” said Shrikant Chouhan, Head of Equity Research (Retail), Kotak Securities Ltd.
Among the Sensex firms, JSW Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services, NTPC, Wipro, HCL Technologies, State Bank of India, Larsen & Toubro, UltraTech Cement, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Power Grid and Reliance Industries Limited were the major laggards.
Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Finance were the gainers.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge cracked 4.18 per cent, and the midcap index dropped 2.51 per cent.
All the indices ended lower, with telecommunication plunging 3.82 per cent, industrials falling 3.26 per cent, utilities (3.10 per cent), commodities (3.06 per cent), services (2.99 per cent), realty (2.84 per cent), power (2.69 per cent), consumer discretionary (2.25 per cent), IT (2.14 per cent) and oil & gas (1.88 per cent).
“Fear of regional conflict in the Middle East and worries over more rate hikes by the US Fed for an extended period were the major cause of concern in the market. Even the earning season has been mixed so far, thus not providing resilience to the market,” Siddhartha Khemka, Head – Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Shanghai settled lower.
European markets were trading with cuts. The US markets ended in negative territory on Friday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.04 per cent to USD 92.18 a barrel.
“Despite the healthy performance of private banks and marginal reductions in oil prices, investor confidence remained pessimistic, and a widespread consolidation persisted in the domestic markets. The global markets echoed the same trend, as the unrest in West Asia has the potential to spiral further.
“Increased apprehensions surrounding prolonged elevated interest rates fuelled a continued upward movement in the US 10-year yield,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 456.21 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
Equity markets will remain closed on Tuesday on account of Dussehra.
The BSE benchmark fell 231.62 points or 0.35 per cent to settle at 65,397.62 on Friday. The Nifty declined 82.05 points or 0.42 per cent to 19,542.65. (PTI)
