Sensex tumbles 585 points; Nifty drops below 14,600

Mumbai, March 18

Extending its losing streak to the fifth consecutive session, equity benchmark Sensex tanked 585 points on Thursday, tracking losses in index majors Infosys, RIL and TCS.

After rallying nearly 500 points earlier in the day, the 30-share BSE index gave up all gains to end 585.10 points or 1.17 per cent lower at 49,216.52. The broader NSE Nifty slumped 163.45 points or 1.11 per cent at 14,557.85.

HCL Tech was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 4 per cent, followed by Infosys, Dr Reddy’s, TCS, Reliance Industries, Tech Mahindra and NTPC.

On the other hand, ITC, Bajaj Auto, M&M, Maruti and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.

“Having seen a brisk gap-up opening on positive global cues, domestic equities fell sharply for the fifth consecutive day as sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country made investors jittery,” said Binod Modi, Head Strategy at Reliance Securities.

A sharp rise in daily COVID-19 cases in India has raised apprehensions about sustainability of ongoing rebound in corporate earnings, he noted, adding that the mounting concerns of possible fresh economic restrictions made enthusiasm of dovish commentary from Federal Reserve short lived for domestic markets.

After its two-day policy meeting, the US Fed reassured investors that it expects to keep its key interest rate near zero through 2023.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended with gains in the overnight session.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended on a positive note.

Bourses in Europe were also trading higher in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.40 per cent lower at USD 67.73 per barrel. PTI

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