Bloodbath on D-Street: Sensex slumps 900 points amid broad-based selloff; slips below 64K

Mumbai: Sliding for the sixth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex on Thursday plunged about 900 points to crash below the 64,000 level due to a broad-based selloff amid heightened tension in the Middle East.

The broader gauge Nifty fell below the psychological 19,000 level.

Besides sluggish trends in global markets, deep losses in auto, financial and energy stocks as well as fresh selling by foreign investors added to the gloom, analysts said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 900.91 points or 1.41 per cent to settle below the 64,000 mark at 63,148.15. During the day, it plummeted 956.08 points or 1.49 per cent to 63,092.98.

A total of 2,232 firms declined, while 1,426 advanced and 142 remained unchanged on the BSE.

The Nifty dived 264.90 points or 1.39 per cent to 18,857.25.

"Nifty fell again for the sixth consecutive session...even as a series of poor corporate results in the US cast a shadow on the global risk appetite already impacted by the conflict in the Middle East," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research, HDFC Securities, said.

Since October 17, the BSE benchmark has tumbled 3,279.94 points or 4.93 per cent, while the Nifty fell 954.25 points or 4.81 per cent.

Mahindra & Mahindra was the biggest loser in the Sensex pack, falling 4.06 per cent, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints, Nestle, Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Titan, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors and Larsen & Toubro.

In contrast, Axis Bank, ITC, HCL Technologies, NTPC and IndusInd Bank were the gainers.

"Till date, the actual domestic Q2 results are below par in comparison to the excited earnings forecasted. Similar disappointments are visible in developed economies. A downgrade in earnings and valuation is arising due to the risk of further slowdown of the economy due to geopolitical and elevated interest rates.

"Also selling pressure intensified due to expiry-led volatility influencing investors to stay cautious," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge fell 1.06 per cent and the smallcap index declined 0.32 per cent.

"All the sectors were down 1-2 per cent. Tensions in the Middle East, coupled with sticky US Treasury yields at around 5 per cent, triggered risk-off sentiment. Further mixed Q2 results, continued FIIs selling, rising oil price and near record high USD/INR to above 83, have also dented the investor sentiments," Siddhartha Khemka, Head - Retail Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said.

Among the indices, auto dropped 1.81 per cent, oil & gas slipped 1.54 per cent, metal (1.54 per cent), financial services (1.46 per cent), consumer discretionary (1.41 per cent), consumer durables (1.41 per cent), telecommunication (1.25 per cent), realty (1.22 per cent) and teck (1.16 per cent).

Utilities and power were the gainers.

"Asian stocks slid to 11-month lows, and European shares dropped on Thursday, hit by a rise in US Treasury yields, a slew of weak earnings reports with an ECB meeting and the release of US GDP to come later in the day," Jasani said.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong settled lower, while Shanghai ended in the green.

European markets were trading with significant losses. The US equity indices ended in negative territory on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.65 per cent to USD 89.54 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 4,236.60 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

"Given the global uncertainties, there could be higher volatility in the near term, thus giving long-term investors an opportunity to accumulate quality stocks at lower levels. We suggest to make higher allocation towards large caps as valuations are comfortable along with steady growth prospects," Khemka said.

The BSE benchmark tanked 522.82 points or 0.81 per cent to end at 64,049.06 on Wednesday. The Nifty fell 159.60 points or 0.83 per cent to 19,122.15.