Sensex Dives Over 500 Points As Big Losses In Oil Retailers Drag Markets
Thirty-seven out of 50 Nifty stocks traded with losses. By 1:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex had touched a day's low of 34,651.89. ONGC, RIL, Coal India, and Bajaj Auto were the top Sensex laggards.
The domestic stock markets cracked on Friday ahead of the outcome of the three-day policy review meeting of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). By 1:30 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex had touched a day's low of 34,651.89 and the Nifty50 of 10,405.60. The 30-share Sensex traded at 34,685.05, down 484.11 points or 1.38 per cent and the Nifty50 was at 10,410.80, with a loss of 188.45 points or 1.78 per cent. Investors offloaded their positions tracking a selloff in global markets, brokers were quoted as saying in a report by news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
Shedding between 3.23 and 15.53 per cent, ONGC, Mahindra and Mahindra, Reliance Industries, Coal India, and Bajaj Auto were the top Sensex laggards.
Thirty-seven out of 50 Nifty stocks traded with losses. Oil-marketing companies led the fall in the Nifty pack after they were asked to absorb Re 1 per litre in petrol and diesel price cut out of a total of Rs 2.5 a litre announced by the government on Thursday. Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Indian Oil Corporation plunged between 14.59 and 23.61 per cent on the Nifty50 index.
The hope for bulls is now placed near the 10,500 mark which offers strong support, said Dyaneshwar Padwal, AVP Technical Analyst, KIFS Trade Capital.
"The bulls may take charge from that mark."
RBI will release its fourth bi-monthly policy statement later in the day. Experts expect RBI to raise key interest rates for a third time since June to combat inflation.
Meanwhile, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.3 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei dropped 0.5 per cent and Australian benchmark was up just 0.1 per cent, according to a report by news agency Reuters.
On Thursday, foreign portfolio investors sold while domestic institutional investors purchased net equities worth Rs 2,760.63 crore and Rs 1,823.59 crore respectively. The Sensex had closed at 35,169.16 and the Nifty at 10,599.25. (With agencies inputs)