Sensex, Nifty tumble nearly 1 pc; extend falling streak to 5th day

Mumbai: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty plunged nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday, in continuation with the pessimistic trend amid the ongoing tensions in the Middle East.

Falling for the fifth day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 522.82 points or 0.81 per cent to settle at 64,049.06. During the day, it dropped 659.72 points or 1.02 per cent to 63,912.16. The Nifty fell 159.60 points or 0.83 per cent to 19,122.15. Among the Sensex firms, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Tech Mahindra, Titan and Axis Bank were among the major laggards. Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti and Nestle were the gainers. In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled in the positive territory while Seoul ended lower. European markets were trading in the negative territory.

The US markets ended in the green on Tuesday. "Investor sentiment is on edge as tensions in West Asia continue to drag the market. Despite a drop in oil prices and an optimistic view of the progressing Q2 results season, investors took a cautious approach due to the expectation that a higher interest rate scenario would continue slowing future growth," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Nair further said that a positive strategy is evident on large-cap stocks, amid growing geopolitical worries and valuation concerns in mid and small-cap stocks, as overall earnings growth is being sustained. Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.30 per cent to USD 88.32 a barrel.

"The market was waiting for an opportunity for profit-booking - the recent hike in bond yields to 5 per cent, increased geopolitical tensions risking a flare-up in the Middle East as well and early in-line corporate results have all just provided the platform for much-awaited correction," said Pawan Bharaddia, Co-founder, Equitree. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 252.25 crore on Monday, according to exchange data. Equity markets were closed on Tuesday on account of Dussehra festival. The BSE benchmark plunged 825.74 points or 1.26 per cent to settle at 64,571.88 on Monday. The Nifty fell 260.90 points or 1.34 per cent to 19,281.75.