Market continues its sluggish trend, Sensex ends over 430 points lower, Nifty below 9,800 mark
Analysts attributed the free fall to profit-booking by investors.
The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex continued its free fall for the seventh straight session on Wednesday, shedding 439.95 points to close at 31,159.81. The National Stock Exchange Nifty also fell 134.65 points to end at 9,739.25. This is the longest losing streak for the indices since a seven-day fall that ended on December 22, 2016.
“Local and global events such as increase in crude oil prices, the weak rupee and news of a fiscal stimulus package have triggered profit-taking behaviour among investors,” Emkay Global Financial Services Managing Director Krishna Kumar Karwa told CNBC-TV18.
The only gainers on the Sensex were Tata Consultancy Services and Coal India. The five top losers were Adani Ports, Sun Pharmaceuticals, State Bank of India, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.
The five biggest gainers on the Nifty were Bharti Infratel, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, Ambuja Cements and GAIL. The five stocks that declined the most were Adani Ports, State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Sun Pharmaceuticals and Ultra Tech Cement.
Other Asian markets had a mixed day. The Hong Kong Hang Seng closed nearly 130 points up. The Taiwan TSEC 50 Index was up by more than 69 points and the Shanghai index traded flat at 1.69 points up. However, Japan’s Nikkei 225 was 63 points down.
The United States dollar strengthened after the US Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen raised expectations of an interest rate rise in December, reported Mint. The rupee was at a fresh six-month low of 65.69 against the dollar.