Sensex Crashes Over 1,000 Points, Nifty Trades Below 17,650; Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Auto Among Top Drags

The Indian equity benchmarks continued to plunge for the third straight session on Thursday dragged by losses across all sectors in late deals. As of 2:45 pm, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack was down 1,009 points or 1.68 per cent at 59,090 and the broader NSE Nifty slumped 289 points or 01.61 per cent to 17,648.

Mid- and small-cap shares were in the negative zone as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.56 per cent and small-cap shares were trading 0.24 per cent down.

On the stock-specific front, Bajaj Finserv was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 5.42 per cent to Rs 17,097.35. Bajaj Auto, Divi's Lab, Hindustan Unilever and Infosys were also among the laggards.

Bajaj Finserv's net profit for the quarter ended December 2021 (Q3) fell 2.6 per cent to Rs 1,256 crore as compared to Rs 1,290 crore in the year-ago period. 

"The market (Nifty) may correct till 17,500 after such a sharp run-up in such a short time," Samrat Dasgupta, CEO at Esquire Capital Investment Advisors, told news agency Reuters.

Investors would likely stay on the sidelines as the Union Budget 2022 approaches, he added.

Also, non-bank lender PTC India Financial Services tanked 19 per cent after its three independent directors resigned citing lapses in corporate governance.

On the flipside, PowerGrid, Coal India, Tata Consumer Products, Bharti Airtel and Grasim Industries were among the gainers.

The overall market breadth was weak as 1,580 shares were advancing while 1,796 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE platform, Bajaj Finserv, HUL, Infosys, HDFC, Sun Pharma, TCS, Dr Reddy's and Reliance Industries attracted the most losses with their shares sliding as much as 5.54 per cent.

PowerGrid, Airtel and Maruti Suzuki India were among the gainers.

Sensex had slumped 656 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 60,099 on Wednesday, while the broader NSE Nifty had settled 175 points or 0.96 per cent lower at 17,938.