Sensex ends 700 pts lower in late sell-off, IT stocks extend losses

Equity benchmarks extended losses for the fifth consecutive session today, dragged down by heavyweights HDFC twins and Infosys amid a mixed trend in global markets.

Sensex tanked 703 points to end at 56,463. During the day, the 30-stock index tanked 1157 points to 56,009. For the majority of session, Sensex hovered around the positive territory. It gained nearly 300 points to 57,464.

Nifty crashed 215 points to close at 16,958.

HDFC, HDFC Bank, Infosys, ITC and Tech Mahindra were the top Sensex losers falling up to 5.50 per cent. RIL, ICICI Bank, SBI and Bajaj Finance were the top Sensex gainers, rising up to 3.71 per cent. Of 30 Sensex stocks, 26 ended in the red.

Market cap of BSE-listed firms fell to Rs 266.02 lakh crore.

BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices slumped 296 points and 354 points, respectively.

The market breadth was negative with 1,234 shares ending higher against 2179 stocks falling in the red. 123 shares were unchanged.

Share Market update: Sensex falls 700 pts, Nifty ends below 17,100; HDFC twins, ITC top losers

Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services said, "Intensification of geo-political tensions and hyperinflation as crude and metal price rises worried the market. The Indian IT sector continued to lead the downtrend following sectoral headwinds highlighted in weak Q4 earnings. Quick sell-off was witnessed during the closing hours led by banking stocks due to FII selling as global market weakened."

IT, capital goods and consumer durables shares were the top sectoral losers with their BSE indices falling 869 points, 465 points and 400 points, respectively.

Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net Rs 6,387 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.

On Monday, equity benchmarks tumbled for the fourth consecutive session , dragged down by heavyweights Infosys and HDFC twins amid a weak trend in Asian markets. Sensex tanked 1,172.19 points or 2.01 per cent to end at 57,166.74.

Nifty crashed 302 points or 1.73 per cent to close at 17,173.65.

World stocks were trading on a mixed note on Tuesday, with European benchmarks losing ground after most Asian shares advanced. London, Paris, Frankfurt and Hong Kong declined while Tokyo and Sydney rose. US futures were higher and oil prices retreated.

Germany's DAX slipped 0.5 per cent to 14,093.29 while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.6 per cent to 6,552.24. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.3 per cent to 7,596.49.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.3 per cent to 21,027.7. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7 per cent to 26,985.09 and the Kospi in Seoul added 1 per cent to 2,718.89. In Sydney, the S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.6 per cent to 7,565.20.