Stock markets plunge on profit booking

Mumbai: BSE Sensex skidded 637 points, while NSE Nifty plunged below the 18,050-level on Wednesday as investors took money off the table after a two-day rally ahead of the release of US Fed meeting minutes. Unabated foreign fund outflows also weighed on sentiment, traders said. The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 636.75 points or 1.04 per cent to settle at 60,657.45. The broader NSE Nifty ended lower by 189.60 points or 1.04 per cent at 18,042.95.

"The domestic market affected by the worries in the global market, traded with deep cuts. Fears over aggressive rate hikes resurfaced ahead of the release of Fed meeting minutes, a meeting that left the door open for additional hikes. Apart from global cues, the domestic market will pay close attention to corporate earnings," said Vinod Nair, head (research) at Geojit Financial Services. Siddhartha Khemka, head (retail research), Motilal Oswal Financial Services Ltd, said that "cautiousness ahead of the release of FOMC meeting minutes led to some profit booking in the index heavyweights. Some of the banks have announced strong pre-quarterly business updates indicating good results ahead, which could keep the sector in limelight. Other sectors like insurance, fertilizer, capital goods and agri related stocks can see some momentum in anticipation of development in upcoming Budget." Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded shares worth a net Rs 628.07 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 0.97 per cent and the smallcap index dipped 0.79 per cent. Among sectoral indices, metal tanked 2.83 per cent, realty went lower by 1.99 per cent, utilities (1.74 per cent), energy (1.70 per cent), oil & gas (1.52 per cent) and power (1.51 per cent).