Sensex slumps over 1,000 points to slip below 71,000; HDFC Bank, RIL weigh

PTI

Mumbai, January 23

Equity benchmark index Sensex tumbled 1,053 points to close below the 71,000 level on Tuesday, dragged down by index heavyweights HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and SBI amid mixed global cues.

Concerns over subdued quarterly performance by corporates triggered selling pressure in most of the counters, according to traders.

After opening with gains of nearly 450 points, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 1,053.10 points or 1.47 per cent to settle at 70,370.55. The index hit the lowest intraday level of 70,234.55. It also touched an intraday high of 72,039.20.

Broader Nifty also declined 330.15 points or 1.53 per cent to close at 21,241.65.

Among the Sensex firms, IndusInd Bank was the biggest loser and fell 6.13 per cent, followed by SBI (3.99 pc), Hindustan Unilever (3.82 pc), Axis Bank (3.41 pc) and HDFC Bank (3.23 pc).

In contrast, Sun Pharma, Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank and PowerGrid defied the trend and closed with gains of up to 3.67 per cent. TCS and Bajaj Finserve were the other gainers.

A total of 24 stocks of the 30-share index closed with losses.

In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed with a sharp gain of 2.63 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite increased by 0.52 per cent. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 per cent.

European markets were trading lower on Tuesday with Germany's DAX down 0.09 per cent and CAC 40 of France losing 0.16 per cent. London's FTSE 100 also declined 0.13 per cent.

In the US markets, the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed with gains of up to 0.36 per cent on Monday.

The domestic equity market was closed on January 22 due to the consecration ceremony in Ayodhya, while NSE and BSE held normal trading sessions on Saturday.

On Saturday, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 259.58 points or 0.36 per cent to settle at 71,423.65. The Nifty declined 50.60 points or 0.23 per cent to close at 21,571.80.

Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.40 per cent to USD 79.74 a barrel on Tuesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 545.58 crore on Saturday, according to exchange data.

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