Sensex falls 736 points, Nifty below 22K amid slump in IT shares

PTI

Mumbai, March 19

Benchmark Sensex tanked 736 points while Nifty fell below the 22,000 level on Tuesday following a sell-off in index majors TCS, Infosys and RIL and weak Asian trends as Japan’s central bank hiked rates for the first time in 17 years.

Investors become poorer by Rs 4.86L cr

• A sharp plunge in the stock market made investors poorer by Rs 4.86 lakh crore on Tuesday
• Tata Consultancy Services fell by 4.03% as Tata Sons sold around 2.3 crore shares in the IT services major through block deals
• IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Nestle, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Power Grid, ITC, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors and UltraTech Cement were the other major laggards

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 736.37 points or 1.01 per cent to settle at more than a month’s low of 72,012.05. As many as 23 Sensex shares declined while seven advanced. The index declined by 815.07 points or 1.12 per cent to slide below 72,000 at 71,933.35 in day trade.

The broader NSE Nifty slumped 238.25 points or 1.08 per cent to settle at a month’s low of 21,817.45. As many as 41 Nifty shares closed in the red while nine ended with gains.

The key indices opened on a weak note amid losses in Asian markets as the Bank of Japan hiked interest rates for the first time in 17 years.

Investors were also cautious ahead of the US Fed interest rate decision this week, analysts said. Sharp losses in TCS also dragged the indices to month’s lows. Tata Consultancy Services tanked over 4 per cent as its promoter Tata Sons sold around 2.3 crore shares, or 0.65 per cent of equity stake, in the IT services major through block deals.

Other IT stocks Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies also closed lower. IndusInd Bank, Reliance Industries, Nestle, Power Grid, ITC and Tata Motors were the other major laggards. Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finserv and Titan were the gainers. In the broader market, the BSE midcap gauge declined 1.36 per cent and the smallcap index fell by 1.04 per cent.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#Japan #Mumbai #Sensex