MUMBAI: Continuing its losing streak for the fifth consecutive session, the Sensex plunged about 660 points on Friday, falling below the 80,000-mark amid strong selling pressure due to significant foreign fund outflows and underwhelming corporate earnings.
The BSE Sensex fell 662.87 points, or 0.83 per cent, to close at 79,402.29 after sliding as much as 927.18 points, or 1.15 per cent, to a low of 79,137.98 intraday. The NSE Nifty also declined 218.60 points, or 0.90 per cent, to settle at 24,180.80.
IndusInd Bank leads losses
IndusInd Bank led the losses among the Sensex constituents, slumping over 18.5 per cent after reporting a 40 per cent drop in net profit to Rs1,331 crore for the September quarter, triggering asset quality concerns.
Other notable laggards included Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finance, and Titan.
Conversely, ITC surged over 2 per cent after posting a 1.8 per cent increase in Q2 net profit to Rs5,054.43 crore. Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma, and ICICI Bank were also among the gainers.
FIIs sell heavily
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) sold equities worth Rs5,062.45 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) purchased shares totaling Rs3,620.47 crore, as per exchange data.
In other markets, Asian indices like Seoul, Shanghai, and Hong Kong closed in positive territory, though Tokyo finished lower. European markets traded higher, while US markets ended mostly up on Thursday. Brent crude prices rose 0.42 per cent to $74.69 per barrel.
