Sensex, Nifty Plunge To Over 1-Month Low As US-China Trade Concerns Resurface

The Sensex and Nifty fell sharply in Wednesday's session, closing lower for a sixth session in a row. The Sensex plunged 488 points to end at 37,789 and the Nifty 50 Index slumped 1.2 per cent or 138 points to close at 11,359. The Sensex fell as much as 534 points during the session, and the Nifty 50 Index declined to an intraday low of 11,347. According to analysts, a combination of factors including worries over unsuccessful US-China trade negotiations impacting global growth prospects, profit-booking ahead of the outcome of general elections and below-par corporate earnings impacted the investor sentiment. (Also Read: Sensex Falls Over 400 Points, Nifty Below 10,400; Zee, Vedanta Top Losers)

The Sensex ended at its lowest level since March 14 and the Nifty fell to its lowest level since March 25.

"Correction started last week due to domestic reasons after fund flows turned negative that triggered profit booking", Ajay Bagga, executive chairman at OPC Asset Solutions told NDTV.

Donald Trump's comments on tariffs raised concerns about global growth and the entire rally that started in last week of December seems to have stalled for now. Going ahead fresh triggers will be the exit polls in the coming weeks and investors will closely watch the outcome of elections, Mr Bagga said. 

Meanwhile corporate earnings are not recovering as it was anticipated and that is also hurting the market sentiment, Mr Bagga added.

All the 19 sector gauges compiled by BSE ended lower led by the S&P BSE Energy Index's 2.51 per cent decline.

Selling pressure was broad-based as Consumer Discretionary Goods & Services, Finance, Healthcare, Industrials, Telecom, Utilities, Auto, Bankex, Oil & Gas, Power and Realty sector gauges fell between 1 and 2 per cent each.

Mid- and small-cap shares also witnessed selling pressure as S&P BSE MidCap Index fell 0.96 per cent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index fell 1.21 per cent.

From the Nifty 50 basket of shares, 40 ended lower while 10 closed higher.

Zee Entertainment, Bajaj Finance, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv, Sun Pharma, Bajaj Auto, NTPC and State Bank of India were among the top Nifty losers.

On the other hand, Hindalco, UPL, Titan, Asian Paints, Cipla, Britannia Industries and JSW Steel were among the notable gainers.

The overall market breadth was negative as extremely negative as 1,816 shares closed lower while 671 ended higher on the BSE.