New Delhi: Equity indices plunged sharply on Thursday dragged by IT, metal and realty stocks.
The benchmark BSE Sensex dived 604points or 0.99per cent to 60,656in late deals; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 172points or 0.94per cent to 18,095.Major laggards in the BSE pack included Tata Steel, Dr Reddy's , Reliance Industries, Bharti Airtel, IndusInd Bank and Infosys with their shares falling as much as 3.18 per cent.
On the other hand, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC, PowerGrid, UltraTech Cements and NTPC surged as much as 4.80 per cent.On the NSE platform, sub-indices Nifty IT, Metal and Realty fell as much as 2.55 per cent in late deals.Both the indices started on a positive note but soon gave up all gains amid continuous profit-booking by investors.BSE smallcap and midcap were trading 0.82 per cent and 1 per cent lower respectively."Certain pockets, where valuations have become lofty and have seen frenzy buying in small and midcap indexes, are seeing a correction," Saurabh Jain, Assistant Vice President of Research at SMC Global Securities, told news agency Reuters."Sustained selling by institutional investors indicate that smart money regards the market as overheated and over-valued," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, told Reuters.A set of data released by Reuters also showed that domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold $1.03 billion worth of securities in Indian capital markets in the past one week.Future Retail fell as much as 3.92 per cent after a Singapore arbitration panel ruled that the retailer must take part in arbitration over a commercial dispute with AmazonHavells India dropped as much as 7.16 per cent after it posted a fall in quarterly profit.On the earnings front, Asian Paints, JSW Steel, Biocon, Can Fin Homes, Container Corporation, TVS Motor Co and ICICI Lombard General Insurance are expected to declare their results during the day.