Sensex drops 151 pts on heavy selloff in automobile stocks

Stocks extended their fall for yet another session on Monday, with the BSE Sensex falling over 150 points and the NSE Nifty slipping below the 10,900mark, as selling pressure continued in the market despite a rebound in global stocks.

Brokers said auto sector stocks were the centre of nervous selling, triggered by dismal quarterly earnings of leading auto makers.

The 30-share barometer, after shuttling between 36,588.41 and 36,300.48 points, finally ended at 36,395.03, down 151.45 points, or 0.41 per cent. The gauge had lost nearly 429 points in the previous two sessions. The Nifty finished 49.80 points, or 0.50 per cent, down at 10,888.80. “Selling pressure continued in the market despite a rebound in global market as investors turned risk averse due to upcoming election,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.

Quarterly results have not surprised investors, while scope of downgrade in earnings further dampened the sentiment, he said, adding “global trade deal and risk of slowdown in growth continue to give caution, while investors remain focused on tomorrow’s CPI inflation and IIP data to get some direction."