Sensex Gives Up 4-Day Gains, Drops 561 Points Under Heavy Selling Pressure

Mumbai, Jun 24 (PTI) Snapping its four-day rising streak, the BSE Sensex surrendered all early gains to plunge 561 points on Wednesday as investors booked profits in banking and finance stocks ahead of expiry of monthly derivatives contracts.

Weak cues from global markets amid rising coronavirus cases and a faltering rupee further sapped risk appetite, traders said.

The 30-share BSE Sensex, which opened on a strong note, came under heavy selling pressure in afternoon trade. It finally closed at 34,868.98, down 561.45 points, or 1.58 per cent.

Similarly, the NSE Nifty tumbled 165.70 points, or 1.58 per cent, to end at 10,305.30. 

IndusInd Bank was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, tanking 7.43 per cent, followed by ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank and SBI.

 On the other hand, Asian Paints, ITC, Nestle India, Tech Mahindra, Reliance Industries and TCS spurted up to 3.82 per cent.

"In spite of opening positive, markets finally ended negative, in sync with negative global cues. The rising cases of virus infections worldwide, especially in the Americas, unnerved the global markets. Domestic cases too show no signs of abating and this must be weighing on the investors.

 "Almost all sectoral indices ended in the red, with the bank index the major loser. Ahead of F&O expiry (on Thursday), markets are expected to remain volatile and investors advised to keep booking profits," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.