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Sensex crashes 1k points, below 60k – Times of India

MUMBAI: Strong selling by foreign funds, combined with offloading by some non-institutional investors, pulled down the sensex on Thursday by over 1,100 points with the index closed below the 60k mark after three weeks. There are fears among traders that the deluge of IPOs in the next two weeks may prompt people to withdraw money from listed stocks to invest in those offerings. The sensex closed 1,159 points lower at 59,985 with ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Kotak Bank contributing the most to the day’s loss.
On the NSE, the broader Nifty too closed 354 points lower at 17,857 points. On the BSE, the day’s loss left investors poorer by Rs 4.8 lakh crore with market capitalisation now at Rs 263.5 lakh crore, official data showed.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) led the selling with the day’s net outflow at Rs 3,819 crore, according to the exchange’s data. Domestic funds, however, were net buyers at Rs 837 crore.
The selling by foreign funds was part of the recent trend. “Relentless selling by FPIs over two weeks has led to weakness in the market,” said Motilal Oswal Financial Services head (retail research) Siddhartha Khemka. “They have sold over Rs 10,000 crore worth of Indian equities in the past five sessions. Further, mixed earnings season along with premium valuations also exerted pressure as there is little room for disappointment,” Khemka said.