Mumbai, August 20: The Sensex crashed 394 points while the Nifty closed below the 11,350-level on Thursday, in tandem with a global sell-off after the US Federal Reserve's gloomy economic outlook spooked investors across the world.
Mumbai, August 20: The Sensex crashed 394 points while the Nifty closed below the 11,350-level on Thursday, in tandem with a global sell-off after the US Federal Reserve's gloomy economic outlook spooked investors across the world.
A sharp depreciation in the rupee and profit-booking after the recent rally further weighed on domestic bourses, traders said.
The BSE Sensex, which opened on the back foot, stayed in the negative territory throughout the session before closing at 38,220.39, down 394.40 points or 1.02 per cent.
On similar lines, the broader NSE Nifty slumped 96.20 points or 0.84 per cent to finish at 11,312.20 level.
HDFC was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.35 per cent, followed by Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, M&M, Titan, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank.
Only five index constituents — NTPC, ONGC, PowerGrid, Tata Steel and HCL Tech — finished with gains, spurting as much as 6.87 per cent.
Global markets reeled after the US Federal Reserves' minutes of its July meeting underscored the dangers of the COVID-19 pandemic to the American economy.
Federal Open Market Committee members said the pandemic poses "considerable risks" to the economic outlook as well as the financial system.
"The Fed Reserve cast doubts on the nascent recovery of the labor market seen in the previous months and its sustainability. Markets, globally, were banking on expectations of steady recovery in the major economies and the consequent return to normalcy for businesses. Although there was nothing new in the minutes, markets reacted negatively to it.
"Most sectoral indices were in the red, with the banking index leading the losses. Investors are advised to remain cautious and another round of losses, similar to today, can bring in negativity into the markets," said Vinod Nair, head (Research), Geojit Financial Services.
BSE telecom, bankex, finance, energy, teck, FMCG and auto indices fell up to 1.78 per cent, while utilities, power and metal indices rallied as much as 4.19 per cent.
Broader BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices outperformed the benchmarks, surging up to 0.87 per cent.
Meanwhile, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended with heavy losses. Stock exchanges in Europe also witnessed robust selling in early sessions.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.06 per cent lower at US dollar 44.89 per barrel.
In the forex market, the rupee slumped 20 paise to close at 75.02 against the US dollar.