Sensex crashes 839 pts

Mumbai: Snapping its six-session winning run, the BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted 839 points on Monday as fresh India-China border tensions triggered a broad-based selloff in domestic equities.

Profit-booking at higher levels and weak macroeconomic data also fuelled the crash, traders said.

After rallying 543 points in the morning session and touching the 40,000-mark, the BSE Sensex surrendered all gains to close at 38,628.29, showing a loss of 839.02 points or 2.13 per cent. Similarly, the NSE Nifty tanked 260.10 points or 2.23 per cent to end at 11,387.50.

Sun Pharma was the top loser in the Sensex pack, plunging over 7 per cent, followed by SBI, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, NTPC, ICICI Bank, Kotak Bank, M&M and Maruti. Only ONGC and TCS ended on a positive note. Indian markets opened trade on a positive note, but the sentiment failed to sustain in the afternoon session following reports of the border tensions with China, said Narendra Solanki, Head- Equity Research (Fundamental), Anand Rathi.

Meanwhile, market sentiment was also weakened after the release of core sector data. Investors are now awaiting gross domestic production (GDP) data, scheduled to be released later in the day. Bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended in the red, while Tokyo settled with gains.