At the close of market hours, the Sensex was down 424.61 points or 1.15% at 36546.48, while the Nifty was down 125.80 points or 1.14% at 10943.60.
Bears had a field day as benchmark indices witnessed a big plunge, especially in the last hour of trade. The Sensex cracked a little over 420 points, while the Nifty gave up the psychological 11,000-mark and ended below 10,950.
Tepid global cues, selloff in big names such as Tata Motors and Vedanta dented sentiment. Weakness was visible among all sectors, with maximum pain seen in consumption, metals, and infra companies, among others.
The day began on a lower note amid jitters in the global markets. Investors were reacting to news that US President Donald Trump was unlikely to meet Chinese Premier Xi Jinping before the March deadline. This could have raised concerns whether all was well between the nations as far as trade talks are concerned.
Through the session, markets continued to be lower, but in a narrow range. However, selling in the last hour dragged the market furthermore, pushing them to close at low points.
At the close of market hours, the Sensex was down 424.61 points or 1.15% at 36546.48, while the Nifty was down 125.80 points or 1.14% at 10943.60. The market breadth was negative as 950 shares advanced, against a decline of 1,552 shares, while 125 shares were unchanged.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bharti Airtel, and Bharti Infratel were the top gainers, while Tata Motors, Vedanta, and Indiabulls Housing lost the most.
Stocks in the News
Tata Motors’ shares cracked over 18 percent as investors reacted to poor results by the company.
Mahindra & Mahindra posted earnings that came below expectations. The stock was near 52-week low.
Developments around related party transactions pressurized the stock of Raymond, but a clarification by the management later boosted the stock.
Reliance Communications and other Anil Ambani Group stocks staged a recovery amid a blame by the company against L&T Finance and Edelweiss.
Global Markets
Stocks in Europe were around flat levels as trade war concerns re-emerged. Stoxx 600 was trading flat.
Asia slipped on Friday amid growing concerns over the trade fight between the U.S. and China.
Nikkei 225 declined 2.01 percent to close at 20,333.17. The Topix shed 1.89 percent to close at 1,539.40.
