Markets tumble nearly 1 pc amid broad-based selloff; Sensex sinks below 78k

MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 1 per cent on Thursday due to heavy selling in market heavyweights HDFC Bank, TCS and Reliance as investors turned nervous over earnings growth concerns amid unabated foreign capital outflows.

Besides, abysmally low Chinese inflation data, an indication of poor demand, and a sell-off in US bonds added to the pressure, traders said.

Sliding for the second straight day, the 30-share benchmark dropped 528.28 points or 0.68 per cent to sink below the 78,000 level at 77,620.21. During the day, it tanked 605.57 points or 0.77 per cent to 77,542.92.

The NSE Nifty slumped 162.45 points or 0.69 per cent to 23,526.50.

"The Indian stock market mirrored the decline across its Asian peers, with cautious investor sentiment driven by a sell-off in US bonds. The US 10-year Treasury yield surged to its highest level since April 2024, signalling the expectation of fewer rate cuts by the Fed.

"Further, disappointing inflation data from China added pressure, indicating that recent stimulus measures have failed to rejuvenate one of the world's largest consumer markets," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

From the 30-share Sensex blue-chip pack, Tata Steel, Zomato, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Motors, Adani Ports, Tata Consultancy Services, HDFC Bank and NTPC were the major laggards.

Nestle, Hindustan Unilever, Mahindra & Mahindra, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Asian Paints and Bharti Airtel were among the gainers.

Meanwhile, India's largest IT services company TCS reported an 11.95 per cent jump in net profit to Rs 12,380 crore for the December quarter. The financial results were announced after market hours.

The BSE smallcap gauge tanked 1.17 per cent while the midcap index declined 0.96 per cent.

Among BSE sectoral indices, realty slumped 2.90 per cent, oil & gas (2.19 per cent), energy (1.83 per cent), power (1.68 per cent), capital goods (1.54 per cent) and BSE Focused IT (1.14 per cent).

FMCG emerged as the only gainer.

The Chinese consumer price index rose 0.1 per cent year-on-yer in December, while wholesale prices declined 2.3 per cent, indicating that demand remains subdued in the world's second-largest economy.

In Asian markets, Seoul settled in positive territory, while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading on a mixed note. US markets ended mostly in the green on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.11 per cent to USD 76.05 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 3,362.18 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark declined 50.62 points or 0.06 per cent to settle at 78,148.49 on Wednesday. The Nifty skidded 18.95 points or 0.08 per cent to 23,688.95.