Markets post biggest drop in over 2-months as Sensex sinks 587 points, Nifty below 15,760
Mumbai: Domestic equity benchmarks posted their biggest drop in more than two months on Monday as a selloff in global markets and lacklustre corporate results sapped risk appetite.
A plunging rupee, which slumped 31 paise against the US dollar, also weighed on sentiment, traders said.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 586.66 points or 1.10 per cent to close at 52,553.40. This was its biggest fall since April 30 this year.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty slumped 171 points or 1.07 per cent to 15,752.40.
HDFC Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 3.34 per cent, after the country's largest private sector lender on Saturday
posted a 14 per cent rise in Q1 net profit but also reported reverses on the asset quality front.
IndusInd Bank, HDFC, Axis Bank, Maruti, Bajaj Finance and Kotak Bank were among the other major laggards, dropping up to 2.78 per cent.
Only four Sensex constituents closed in the green — NTPC, Nestle India, Dr Reddy's and Sun Pharma, rising up to 1.89 per cent.
Sectorally, BSE finance, bankex, metal, auto and consumer durables indices shed up to 1.80 per cent, while realty, healthcare, utilities and FMCG managed to close higher.
Broader BSE midcap and smallcap indices slipped up to 0.58 per cent.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.28 per cent to $71.91 per barrel.
The Indian rupee tumbled 31 paise to end at 74.88 against the US currency on Monday, marking its second straight session of loss amid a lacklustre trend in domestic equities and strengthening of the greenback overseas.
