Sensex, Nifty tank 1.5% each on election jitters
The 30-share Sensex fell 1,062 points, while the Nifty50 dived 345 points
MUMBAI: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled about 1.5% on Thursday amid heavy foreign fund outflows and selling in HDFC Bank, Larsen & Toubro and Reliance Industries.
Declining for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 1,062.22 points or 1.45% to settle at 72,404.17. During the day, it tanked 1,132.21 points or 1.54% to 72,334.18.
The NSE Nifty dived 345 points or 1.55% to 21,957.50. During the day, it tumbled 370.1 points or 1.65% to 21,932.40. The benchmarks logged their worst session since January 23.
From the Sensex basket, Larsen & Toubro tanked over 5% on Thursday, after the construction company posted disappointing revenue outlook, while volatility continued to climb amid jitters over the outcome of the ongoing national elections.
“Investors seem wary of entering the markets before the elections (results) and many are locking their gains by booking profits,” said Sonam Srivastava, founder and fund manager at Wright Research.
This fear has resulted in the country’s volatility index climbing for an eleventh straight session to 18.20, highest since October 2022.
“We have seen immediate reversals in the Nifty after hitting fresh highs and this tells a lot about the jitters that the market has on account of the big event,” said Abhishek Goenka, founder and chief executive of IFA Global.
The world’s most populous nation began voting last month, with votes set to be counted on June 4. The election has so far seen comparatively low voter turnout compared to previous years.
On the day, twelve of the 13 major sectors declined, with construction major L&T being the top loser on the Nifty 50 and shed 6% on subdued revenue growth outlook.
Asian Paints, JSW Steel, ITC, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, NTPC, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the laggards.
Amongst day’s key earningsdriven moves, the country’s largest lender State Bank of India ended 1% higher after posting record profit on loan growth boost.
Hero MotoCorp continued its gains following the two-wheeler maker’s profit beat on Wednesday, driving auto stocks 0.8% higher on Thursday. Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys and HCL Tech were also among the gainers.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹6,669.10 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled with gains, while Seoul and Tokyo ended lower.
European markets were trading on a mixed note.
Wall Street closed mixed in overnight trade on Wednesday.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.48%to $83.89 a barrel.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined 45.46 points or 0.06% to settle at 73,466.39 on Wednesday.
The NSE Nifty remained unchanged at 22,302.50.