Sensex snaps 10-day rally, dives 1,066 pts amid heavy selling

Mumbai, October 15

Snapping its 10-session winning run, equity benchmark Sensex plunged 1,066.33 points on Thursday as investors pressed the exit button amid a massive selloff in global markets. The 30-share BSE index plummeted 1,066.33 points or 2.61% to end at 39,728.41. The NSE Nifty crashed 290.70 points or 2.43% to 11,680.35.

Global equities cratered as hopes faded of a pre-election stimulus deal in the US, while multiple countries in Europe braced for a second round of lockdowns to curb rising Covid cases, jeopardising the already shaky economic recovery.

Back home, market participants were also eager to book profits after the recent rally amid already stretched valuations, traders said.

Barring Asian Paints, which inched up 0.32%, all Sensex constituents closed in the red. Bajaj Finance was the top loser, tumbling 4.68%, followed by Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, ICICI Bank, SBI, Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel and HCL Tech.

Investors lost Rs 3.25 lakh crore in Thursday’s session as the total market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies fell to Rs 157.31 lakh crore.

“The market had moved up in expectation of a big stimulus, but the desired fiscal package was not announced in India and a delay of it in US and Euro has changed the trend. At the same time, the pace of economic recovery is under stress because of a resurgence of high rates of Covid infections...

“The trend going forward will depend on the supportive measures announced in context to stimulus and commentary of Q2 results,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. — PTI 

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