Markets tumble as Sensex tanks 338 points; Nifty slips below 15K mark

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks stayed on the backfoot for the second session running on Thursday, mirroring the nervousness in global markets after minutes of the US Fed's previous meeting revealed discussions around tapering its asset purchase programme.

After touching the 50,000-mark in opening trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex was dragged lower by selling in banking and energy counters. It finally finished at 49,564.86, down 337.78 points or 0.68 per cent. On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty gave up the 15,000-level to close 124.10 points or 0.83 per cent lower at 14,906.05.

ONGC was the top loser among the Sensex constituents, tumbling 2.70 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, PowerGrid, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Bharti Airtel, Kotak Bank and Nestle India.

On the other hand, M&M, IndusInd Bank, Titan, L&T, Bajaj Finserv and Infosys were among the gainers, climbing up to 2.47 per cent.

Metal stocks witnessed heavy selling pressure after China's move to curb commodity prices in the country, he pointed out.

Sector-wise, BSE metal, oil and gas, bankex, utilities and energy indices fell up to 3.62 per cent, while realty, capital goods and consumer durables ended with gains.