Downward trend continues in market as Sensex falls 740 points, Nifty below 14.4K

Update: 2021-03-25 19:38 GMT

Mumbai: Equity benchmarks crashed for the second straight session on Thursday as a spurt in COVID-19 cases in the country and fears of localised lockdowns triggered an across-the-board selloff.

Bearish global cues and expiry of monthly derivative contracts added to the volatility, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 740.19 points or 1.51 per cent to close at 48,440.12. The broader NSE Nifty tanked 224.50 points or 1.54 per cent to 14,324.90.

Maruti was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.98 per cent, followed by HUL, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto, NTPC, Bajaj Finance and UltraTech Cement.

Only four index components managed to close in the green -- Dr Reddy's, ICICI Bank, HDFC and L&T, rising up to 0.74 per cent.

All sectoral indices ended in the red, with BSE telecom, power, auto, energy, utilities and realty indices declining as much as 3.14 per cent. Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices tumbled up to 2.22 per cent.

India saw 53,476 new coronavirus infections in a day, the highest single-day rise so far this year, taking the nationwide COVID-19 tally to 1,17,87,534, according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.35 per cent lower at $63.54 per barrel.

The Indian rupee fell by another 7 paise to settle at 72.62 against the US dollar.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Wednesday as they sold shares worth Rs 1,951.90 crore, as per

exchange data.

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