The overall market breadth was weak as 689 shares were advancing while 2,410 were declining on BSE.
New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks continued to plunge for the fifth straight session on Monday amid weak global cues. Asian share markets slipped as investors braced for a Federal Reserve meeting at which it is expected to confirm it will soon start draining the massive lake of liquidity that has supercharged growth stocks in recent years.
As of 12:04 pm, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack was down 1,056 points or 1.79 per cent at 57,981 and the broader NSE Nifty slumped 317 points or 1.80 per cent to 17,301.
Mid- and small-cap shares were in the negative zone as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1.42 per cent and small-cap shares were trading 2.09 per cent lower.
“With gap-down openings tracking weak global cues, markets are likely to continue their sluggish trend,” said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, Capitalvia Global Research Ltd.
On the stock-specific front, JSW Steel was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 3.41 per cent to Rs 643.55. Divi’s Lab Hindalco, Bajaj Finserv and HDFC Life were also among the laggards.
Also, Zomato and Paytm shares fell 18.48 per cent and 5.64 per cent, respectively, to hit their lowest levels since listing.
On the flipside, ONGC, Cipla, IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel and PowerGrid were among the gainers.
The overall market breadth was weak as 689 shares were advancing while 2,410 were declining on BSE.
On the 30-share BSE platform, Wipro, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Titan, Asian Paints and Bajaj Finserv attracted the most losses with their shares sliding as much as 2.83 per cent.
IndusInd Bank, Sun Pharma, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, NTPC and Reliance Industries were among the gainers.
Sensex had slumped 427 points or 0.72 per cent to close at 59,037 on Friday, while the broader NSE Nifty had settled 140 points or 0.79 per cent lower at 17,617.
