Sensex slides 770 points amid global market jitters; RIL top drag

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 770.48 points to settle at 58,766.59 while the broader NSE Nifty declined 216.50 points to close at 17,542.80.

Equity indices buckled under selling pressure on Thursday as a bearish trend in global markets and concerns over aggressive rate hikes by central banks unnerved investors.Market heavyweight Reliance Industries tumbled after the government raised the tax on export of diesel and jet fuel (ATF) and hiked the windfall profit levy on domestically-produced crude oil.The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 770.48 points or 1.29 per cent to settle at 58,766.59. During the day, it tanked 1,014.5 points or 1.70 per cent to 58,522.57.Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty declined 216.50 points or 1.22 per cent to close at 17,542.80.Reliance Industries was the biggest laggard among the Sensex components, sliding 2.99 per cent, followed by TCS, Sun Pharma, Tech Mahindra, HUL, Infosys, NTPC and Tata Steel.In contrast, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Bharti Airtel, Titan, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra and IndusInd Bank were the gainers, climbing up to 2.58 per cent.The market breadth was negative, with 23 of the 30 Sensex counters posting losses."Domestic equities witnessed volatility amid weak global cues... Global markets were negative as concerns heightened over a hawkish Federal Reserve stance on monetary policy tightening and economic slowdown in China. Further data released on Wednesday showed Eurozone inflation rising to record high of 9.1 per cent YoY in August while Japan inflation touched a 24-year high."Indian equities have been witnessing wild swings for the last few days. However, strong macro data, along with positive institutional flows have helped provided support at lower levels," said Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd.India's economy grew by 13.5 per cent in the April-June period this fiscal -- the fastest in the last four quarters -- on account of better performance by the agriculture and services sectors, official data showed on Wednesday."Domestic indices moved in line with peers while prospects of higher rate hikes, elevated inflation and a slowing economy put pressure on stock markets around the world. Although India's Q1 GDP was reported below the RBI's estimate of 16.2 per cent, the strong growth seen in manufacturing activity during Q2 so far indicates a strong recovery in the domestic market."Additionally, ongoing support from FIIs will obscure the weakness, helping domestic indices to stay resilient," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.Defying the weak trend in the benchmarks, the broader markets ended in the green, with the BSE midcap gauge climbing 0.57 per cent and the smallcap index jumping 0.48 per cent.Among the BSE sectoral indices, energy declined 1.99 per cent, followed by oil & gas (1.77 per cent), IT (1.68 per cent), metal (1.56 per cent), teck (1.41 per cent) and utilities (1 per cent).Consumer discretionary goods and services, industrials, telecom, auto, capital goods and realty ended higher.Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai ended lower.Bourses in Europe were trading in the negative zone in the afternoon session. The US markets had ended in the red on Wednesday.Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2 per cent to USD 93.73 per barrel.The rupee declined by 4 paise to close at 79.56 (provisional) against the US dollar on Thursday amid a stronger greenback overseas.Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) bought shares worth a net Rs 4,165.86 crore on Tuesday, as per exchange data. Markets were closed on Wednesday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.