Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in Thursday's early deals as selloff intensified across all sectors. The domestic indices continued their losing run for the sixth straight session. The 30-share BSE Sensex slumped 707 points or 1.10 per cent to trade at 63,342, while the NSE Nifty was down 224 points or 1.17 per cent to trade at 18,898. Broader markets (mid- and small-cap shares) were also weak as Nifty Midcap 100 was down 1.88 per cent and small-cap shed 2.57 per cent.
Pain in the domestic benchmarks intensified as the session progressed. Such was the fall in the domestic indices that around Rs 5.54 lakh crore of BSE market capitalisation (m-cap) was wiped out.
On the global front, Asian markets were subdued. Overnight, Wall Street equities closed lower overnight as Alphabet (Google's parent) shares slid after disappointing earnings and as US Treasury yields rose.
Also, Brent crude oil futures rose above $90 per barrel. A rise in oil prices can hurt a country's import bill.
Back home, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold Rs 4,237 crore worth of shares on a net basis during the previous close while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought a net Rs 3,569 crore of shares.
Investor wealth, as suggested by the BSE m-cap, fell Rs 5.54 lakh crore to Rs 303.68 lakh crore compared with a valuation of Rs 309.22 lakh crore recorded in the previous session. And, a cumulative investor wealth of Rs 20.14 lakh crore was erased in six days.
All the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the NSE -- were trading in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty Bank, Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Auto, Nifty Metal, Nifty IT and Nifty Oil Gas were underperforming the NSE platform by falling as much as 0.97 per cent, 1.12 per cent, 1.57 per cent, 2.11 per cent, 1.24 per cent and 1.14 per cent, respectively.
On the stock-specific front, Adani Enterprises was the top loser in the Nifty pack as the stock cracked 3.16 per cent to trade at Rs 2,185.65. M&M, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv and Hindalco fell up to 2.75 per cent.
In contrast, Axis Bank was the only gainer in the Nifty 50 pack.
The overall market breadth was negative as 2,561 shares were declining while 341 were advancing on BSE.
On the 30-share BSE index, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Finance, L&T, ICICI Bank, SBI, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, TCS and Tata Motors were among the top laggards.
Also, Kama Holdings Ltd, Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd, Welspun India, Ramkrishna Forgings and Macrotech Developers tanked up to 8.36 per cent. On the other hand, Prism Johnson, Sonata Software, Sona BLW Precision Forgings, Share India Securities and Rallis India jumped up to 7.33 per cent.
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