Sensex, Nifty plunges over 1% as IT, financial shares drop
The Hindu
As many as 45 of Nifty shares traded in the red with Adani Enterprises, HDFC twins, and IndusInd Bank emerging as the biggest losers
Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined by more than 1% in opening trade on Friday due to heavy selling in financials, IT and capital goods stocks amid weak global trends.
The 30-share BSE barometer plunged 730.17 points or 1.22% to 59,076.11 as 25 of its constituents traded in the red. The index opened lower and fell to a low of 59,062.72 in early trade.
The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange tanked 201.05 points or 1.14% to 17,388.55 in opening trade. As many as 45 of Nifty shares traded in the red with Adani Enterprises, HDFC twins, and IndusInd Bank emerging as the biggest losers.
Heavy selling in financials, banking, IT, and capital goods shares triggered by weak Asian markets and overnight losses in the U.S. market dragged down the benchmark indices, analysts said.
"The sell-off in U.S. markets was triggered by a crash of 60% in SVB Financials- a bank that mainly funds start-ups. This impacted sentiments and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults," V.K. Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.
HDFC fell the most by 2.53% among Sensex shares. IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Infosys, TCS and Ultratech Cement were among major losers.
Tata Motors bucked the trend gaining 0.75%. Bharti Airtel and Maruti also advanced.