Sensex tumbles 599 points in line with global meltdown

Mumbai, March 4

Snapping its three-session winning run, the BSE Sensex plunged by around 599 points to crack below the key 51,000-level on Thursday amid a meltdown in global shares triggered by a surge in US bond yields.

Intra-day, the 30-share BSE index fell as much as 905 points before ending the session at 50,846.08, showing a decline of 598.57 points or 1.16 per cent.

The broader NSE Nifty too closed with a loss of 164.85 points or 1.08 per cent at 15,080.75.

On the Sensex chart, HDFC, L&T, SBI, Axis Bank, Bajaj FinServ and HDFC Bank were major laggards – dropping up to 2.62 per cent. Of 30 Sensex shares, 25 closed with losses.

“Domestic equities traded lower today mainly on weak global cues…Financials and Metals indices were keg drags today, while FMCG, Pharma and IT indices were resilient. A sharp 6 bps rise in 10-Year USA treasury yield made investors jittery today,” said Binod Modi, Head - Strategy at Reliance Securities.

Over the previous three sessions, the Sensex had risen by 2,344.66 points or 4.77 per cent, while the Nifty had added 716.45 points or 4.93 per cent.

Foreign investors had bought equities worth Rs 2,088.70 crore on a net basis in Indian capital markets on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

On Thursday, Asian shares too tumbled after an overnight surge in bond yields dragged Wall Street lower.

On the forex market front, the rupee ended 11 paise lower at 72.83 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, global crude oil benchmark Brent was trading 1.16 per cent higher at USD 64.73 per barrel. PTI