Mkts snap 8-day winning spree on profit-booking

Mumbai: Snapping its eight-day winning streak, the BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled over 222 points on Friday as investors scrambled to book profits after the recent rally while ratings agency Fitch slashed India's growth forecast.

Lacklustre global cues and a depreciating rupee also weighed on the markets, analysts said. The 30-share index opened on a positive note at 38,452.47, but soon succumbed to heavy selling pressure, touching an intra-day low of 38,089.36.

It finally closed at 38,164.61, down by 222.14 points, or 0.58 per cent. On similar lines, the NSE Nifty shed 64.15 points, or 0.56 per cent, to finish at 11,456.90.

Fitch Ratings on Friday cut India's GDP growth forecast for the next fiscal to 6.8 per cent from 7 per cent estimated earlier on weaker than expected economic momentum.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net buyers in the capital markets, putting in Rs 1,771.61 crore on a net basis on Wednesday, as per provisional data.

Meanwhile, the rupee was trading weak by 10 paise to 69.93 against the US dollar in late afternoon trade.