Sensex, Nifty crash 1 per cent in mid-session amid profit-booking

Mumbai equity markets slumped mid-session, with BSE Sensex down 869.96 points and NSE Nifty falling 251.6 points amid profit booking in realty, power, auto stocks, and rising global crude oil prices

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slumped in the mid-session trade on Thursday amid a broad-based profit-booking rush in realty, power and auto stocks, and rising crude oil prices overseas.

In the mid-session trade, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 869.96 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 82,864.29.

---

The broader NSE Nifty declined 251.6 points, or 0.97 per cent, to 25,567.75.

From the Sensex firms, Trent, Mahindra & Mahindra, IndiGo, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Reliance Industries, Bharat Electronics Ltd, PowerGrid, Adani Ports, ITC, Asian Paints, Axis Bank and Bharti Airtel were among the major laggards.

On the other hand, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services were the only gainers.

Among the sectoral indices, Realty dropped the most by 1.81 per cent, followed by Power by 1.30 per cent. Consumer Discretionary fell by 1.14 per cent, Auto declined by 1.12 per cent, Capital Goods decreased by 1.10 per cent, and Utilities lost 1.09 per cent.

Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Ltd, said, “It appears to be a near-term, broad-based sell-off as the market has performed well month-to-date, triggering profit booking. These are also affected by factors that FIIs participation may get muted due to the Lunar New Year holiday period across Asian markets.”

Additionally, Thursday is a non-settlement day because of a banking holiday. While these factors do not typically influence market direction, they can affect trading mechanics, liquidity, and volumes, he added.

Meanwhile, Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.34 per cent to USD 70.58 per barrel.

“Heightened crude price volatility — with Brent crossing USD 70 amid delays in the US-Iran deal and rising tensions in the Strait of Hormuz — is weighing on the Indian equity market,” Nair said.

In Asian markets, South Korea’s Kospi settled 3 per cent higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 benchmark closed 1 per cent up. Markets in Hong Kong and mainland China remained closed for the Lunar New Year holidays.

The US equities market closed higher in overnight deals on Wednesday.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 1,154.34 crore on Wednesday, while domestic institutional investors were also the net buyers of stocks worth Rs 440.34 crore, according to exchange data.

On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex jumped 283.29 points to settle at 83,734.25, while the broader NSE Nifty gained 93.95 points to close at 25,819.35.