Sensex melts over 446 pts on profit booking

Sensex tumbles by over 446 points in pre-close trade on the BSE as almost all the blue-chip stocks turned weak on frantic selling by funds.

The benchmark Sensex tumbled by over 446 points in pre-close trade on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Friday as almost all the blue-chip stocks led by Infosys and Reliance Industries turned weak on frantic selling by funds.

HT Image

The Sensex, which hand been on a record setting spree in last few trading sessions, fell from record intra-day high of 18,832.75 points in Thursdays trading, fell sharply to 18,367.74 at 1500 hrs, losing 446.33 points.

The second wide-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty also lost 114 points at 5,410.85.

Earlier in the day, Finance Minister P Chidambaram expressed surprise about the steep rise in stock prices, saying speculators may be playing in the market.