Sensex on free fall as FIIs go on a selling spree

Volatility was high in the second half of the trading session. European stocks edged lower in volatile trade, while most Asian stocks fell and US index futures also slipped in volatile trade.

The popular Sensex at BSE was down 238.16 points or 1.19 per cent to close at 19,696.48 points.

The bellwether index slumped 323.29 points at the day’s low of 19,611.35 in late trade and 59.13 points at the day’s high of 19,875.51 in early trade. The 50-unit S&P CNX Nifty at NSE lost 72.85 points or 1.22 per cent to settle at 5,903.70 points in the day’s closing.

Broader market extended recent steep losses as the BSE Mid-Cap index fell 2.21 per cent while the BSE Small-Cap index fell 3.22 per cent. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex. The market breadth was weak and all the sectoral indices on BSE were in the red.

Foreign funds were in selling mode in equities on Tuesday, as per the data released by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi). Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) dumped stocks worth a net Rs 419.70 crore on Tuesday, compared with an inflow of Rs 76.90 crore on December 6.