Sensex plunge rocks market

Mumbai, September 21

Benchmark indices finished with losses Friday after investors were jolted by a sudden mid-session plunge amid a massive sell-off in NBFC stocks.

The BSE Sensex, which opened on a strong footing, suddenly tanked 1,127.58 points, or 3.03 per cent, to hit a low of 35,993.64 in afternoon trade, before staging an equally sharp recovery within minutes. It finally closed at 36,841.60, down 279.62 points. It saw an intra-day swing of 1,495.60 points.

The broader NSE Nifty shed 91.25 points to finish at 11,143.10. The indices closed in the red for the fourth day in a row, during which investors lost a massive Rs 5.6 lakh crore.

Shares of housing finance firms slumped, with Dewan Housing Finance tumbling up to 42 per cent on fears of a liquidity crisis. Reports of debt defaults by IL&FS also sparked concerns, which spilled over into other NBFC counters. Yes Bank was the worst performer in the Sensex pack, losing a whopping 28.71 per cent, after the RBI curtailed the term of its founding CEO Rana Kapoor.

The indices closed with losses for the third straight week. The Sensex lost a hefty 1,249.04 points, or 3.28 per cent, while the NSE Nifty fell 372.10 points, or 3.23 per cent, during the week.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers and offloaded equities worth Rs 2,184.55 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases worth a net Rs 1,201.30 crore Wednesday, provisional data showed. Globally, most Asian and European markets rose, tracking positive closing in the US market overnight on easing trade war concerns. — PTI