The markets ended deep in the red on Thursday ahead of the announcement of inflation numbers. The BSE Sensex plummeted 434 points or 2.9 per cent, to close at 14,243 levels. Broader market benchmark, Nifty also dropped 3 per cent or 131 points, to close below the 4300 mark. It ended at 4283 levels. Heavy selling was witnessed across the board with all sectoral indices shedding over 1 per cent each. “ The market is fearing that inflation may cross 13-14 per cent and that is the reason why it is correcting itself. Moreover, weak global cues and F&O internals have also added to the trading pressure,” said Rajesh Jain, Director and CEO, Pranav Securities. SBI, losing 7 per cent, was the biggest loser among the BSE-30 scrips. Other prominent losers in the group were NTPC, HDFC Bank and DLF.
Asian markets also closed weak on Thursday with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, South Korea’s Kospi and Japan’s Nikkei ending in the red by over 0.8 per cent each.
Banking, realty shed over 5% The BSE realty index, shedding 5 per cent or 263 points was one of the major losers among the sectoral indices. Indiabulls Real Estate, was the most prominent loser in the sector, down 7.4 per cent. The BSE banking index also plunged 5.2 per cent or 357 points to 6577 levels. SBI, dropped 7 per cent to close at 1342 levels while HDFC Bank lost 5.8 per cent to end at 1,165 levels.