Markets sink for 2nd straight day, Sensex falls over 300 pts

Mumbai: Equity indices spiralled lower for the second straight session on Friday, mirroring a global selloff as rising Delta cases and fears of earlier-than-expected Fed tapering sparked a broad retreat from riskier assets.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 300.17 points or 0.54 per cent to close at 55,329.32.

Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 118.35 points or 0.71 per cent to 16,450.50. Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, plunging 8.27 per cent, followed by SBI, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Kotak Bank, L&T and

Bajaj Auto.

On the other hand, HUL, Asian Paints, Nestle India, Bajaj Finance, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Maruti and ITC finished in the green, climbing up to 5.37 per cent.

During the week, the Sensex declined 107.97 points or 0.19 per cent, while the Nifty slipped 78.6 points or 0.47 per cent.

Midcap and smallcap stocks remained under selling pressure, while volatility index soared around 8 per cent.

Sectorally, BSE metal index plunged 6.90 per cent, followed by basic materials, realty, industrials and capital goods indices, while FMCG ended with gains.

Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices nosedived up to 1.91 per cent.

Meanwhile, Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.59 per cent to $66.06 per barrel.