Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex cracked over 1,000 points to dive below the 77,000 level on Monday, tracking heavy selling in global equities and a spike in international crude prices.
A strong US jobs data erasing early rate cut expectations, the rupee logging its steepest single-day fall in nearly two years and unabated foreign fund outflows also dampened investors’ sentiment.
Falling for the fourth straight session, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 1,048.90 points or 1.36 per cent to settle at 76,330.01. During the day, it plunged 1,129.19 points or 1.45 per cent to 76,249.72.
As many as 3,562 stocks declined, while 555 advanced and 131 remained unchanged on the BSE.
Also, 508 stocks hit their 52-week lows while 120 stocks reached the one-year high level.
The NSE Nifty dropped 345.55 points or 1.47 per cent to close at 23,085.95.
The market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms eroded by Rs 24,69,243.3 crore to Rs 4,17,05,906.74 crore ($4.82 trillion) in four days. With Monday’s sharp fall in equities, the market cap of BSE-listed firms dived below the $5-trillion mark.
From the 30-share blue-chip pack, Zomato cracked nearly 7 per cent. Power Grid, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, NTPC, Tata Motors, Tech Mahindra, Mahindra & Mahindra, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma and UltraTech Cement were the other major laggards. In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Tata Consultancy Services and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.
The BSE midcap gauge dropped 4.17 per cent, and smallcap index tanked 4.14 per cent.
All BSE sectoral indices ended lower. Realty slumped 6.59 per cent, utilities (4.38 per cent), services (4.35 per cent), power (4.23 per cent), industrials (4.09 per cent), consumer discretionary (4.04 per cent), consumer durables (3.96 per cent) and commodities (3.69 per cent).
FIIs offloaded equities worth Rs 2,254.68 crore on Friday, according to exchange data. Foreign investors have withdrawn Rs 22,194 crore from Indian equities so far this month.