JOIN USFollowing on the heels of 281-points fall, on Thursday, the Sensex ended lower by another 288.46 points or 1.5 per cent at 18395.97 points and the Nifty slid by 92.15 points or 1.64 per cent to settle at 5512.15 points.
Also, the broader markets had a rougher ride, with the BSE midcap index ending at 6898, weaker by 2.6 per cent and BSE smallcap index ending at 8546, down 3.5 per cent. In the process, investors are staring at a dismal monthly closing as benchmark indices have lost almost 10 per cent since the first day of the year.
Investors have lost a whopping amount of nearly Rs 11,00,000 crore in the stock market in less than three months since Diwali last year, with over Rs 3 lakh crore being wiped out in the past three days alone. The stock market this day plunged to its lowest level in nearly five months after three consecutive days of fall — a period during which the benchmark Sensex plummetted by about 755 points, including 288 points on the last day of the week. Extending its fall for the fourth day in a row, the country’s most valued firm Reliance Industries (RIL) tumbled over 3 per cent on BSE, leading the plunge in the Sensex to close at Rs 914.50. The heavy-weight counter has plummeted by 7.29 per cent in the four straight trading sessions.
Interest rate sensitive realty and auto stocks slumped on concern rising interest rates might hurt demand. Consumer durables and metal stocks also declined. ONGC bucked the weak trend ahead of Q3 results. The company after trading hours reported sharp surge in third quarter bottom line.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) dumped shares worth a net Rs 1397.40 crore on Thursday, as against an inflow of Rs 428.30 crore on Tuesday, as January 26 being a holiday on account of Republic day.
“The investors were rattled by fears of persistent FII outflows amid macro-economic headwinds,” IIFL Head of Research Amar Ambani said. Significant weakness in the RIL shares was also instrumental in the fall of the benchmark Sensex as the company carries the maximum weight on the key index. On the global front, Asian stocks fell after Standard & Poor’s cut Japan’s credit rating. The key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and South Korea fell by 0.3-1.4 per cent. European equities dropped on Friday, pressured by mining shares, with investors staying cautious ahead of the release of US gross domestic product data that is expected to set near-term market direction. The key benchmark indices in France, Germany and UK fell upto 0.6 per cent.