Sensex slides over 450 points pts; ICICI Bank, TCS top laggards

At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices were in the red. Nifty media plunged by 4.6 per cent, PSU bank by 2.4 per cent, metal by 2.7 per cent and pharma by 1.8 per cent

Equity indices faced bearish tendencies during the afternoon on Thursday as selling pressure extended across all segments. At 2 pm, the BSE S&P Sensex was down by 496 points or 1.3 per cent at 36,068 while the Nifty 50 slipped by 129 points to 10,711.

A view of the BSE building in Mumbai.(PTI Photo)

At the National Stock Exchange, all sectoral indices were in the red. Nifty media plunged by 4.6 per cent, PSU bank by 2.4 per cent, metal by 2.7 per cent and pharma by 1.8 per cent.

Among stocks, Yes Bank was the top loser which shed 12 per cent to Rs 56.35 per share after CARE Ratings downgraded ratings of non-convertible debentures of Morgan Credits, one of the private lender’s promoter entities. Other private lenders like IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank too were in the red.

On the other hand, Tata Motors, Maruti, Asian Paints, HDFC Bank, HUL and Bharti Airtel rose up to 1.40 per cent.

According to traders, global investor sentiment turned cautious after the US Federal Reserve cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, but dimmed hopes for further rate cuts as it took a cautious approach to further reductions in borrowing costs.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading on a mixed note in their respective late morning sessions.

On Wall Street too, bourses ended on a tepid note after Fed policy outcome on Wednesday.

Sustained foreign fund outflow too weighed on market sentiment here, traders said.

On Wednesday, foreign portfolio investor sold shares worth a net of Rs 959.09 crore, while domestic institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 780.45 crore, provisional data showed.

The rupee, meanwhile, was trading flat against its previous close at 71.20 in early session.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.11 per cent to 63.67 per barrel (intra-day).

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)