The Indian stock markets continued on their roller-coaster of gains and losses, with the week closing on heavy selling and sharp drop in both Sensex and Nifty.
The 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 693.86 points or 0.85 per cent to settle at 81,306.85. During the day, it plunged 708.94 points or 0.86 per cent to 81,291.77.
The 50-share NSE Nifty dropped 213.65 points or 0.85 per cent to 24,870.10.
This week had seen the markets making up for last week’s intense losses as geopolitical tensions eased and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced GST reforms before Diwali.
But, Friday’s selling, especially in market heavyweights HDFC Bank and Reliance Industries, led to another sharp decline for the equity benchmark indices.
Also Read: Stock markets see green for 4th day on the back of GST reforms
From the Sensex pack, Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, ITC, HCL Tech, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank and Tech Mahindra were among the major laggards; while Mahindra & Mahindra, Maruti, Bharat Electronics and Sun Pharma were among the gainers.
In the six-day rally to Thursday, the BSE benchmark has climbed 1,765 points or 2.14 per cent, and the Nifty rallied 596 points or 2.4 per cent.
Meanwhile, as investors await US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's forthcoming statements at the Jackson Hole Symposium, where chiefs of the world’s major central banks are gathered, the US markets ended lower as it started to become apparent that Powell will hold back on interest rate cuts for at least a little longer.
On the other hand, in Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled in positive territory, as did markets in Europe.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹1,246.51 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.24 per cent to USD 67.52 a barrel.
On Thursday, the Sensex climbed 142.87 points or 0.17 per cent to settle at 82,000.71. The Nifty rose by 33.20 points or 0.13 per cent to 25,083.75.
Follow us
