Indian equities fell sharply on heavy selling in frontline stocks, triggered by weakness in global markets. The Sensex ended 415 points, or 2.79 per cent, lower at 14,483.
The broader benchmark Nifty also dropped 95 points, or 2.1 per cent, to end at 4,352 levels.
Despite oil prices remaining steady below $108 a barrel in Asian trade ahead of OPEC meet amid a two-month plunge in its prices, fears of growing concerns about a slump the US economy and its impact on the global economy moved global markets sharply lower. “Indian markets are following the global cues very strongly. Though crude prices have declined, markets continue to have a downward bias,” said Upendra Kulkarni, Director & CEO, Fortress Financial Service.
Major European markets, which open after Indian markets, also opened sharply lower. The DJ DJ Europe Stoxx index was down by almost 1 per cent. Major Asian markets also fell sharply echoing global sentiments.
On the BSE on Friday, realty, banking, IT and metals indices shed more than 3 per cent each. The markets were mainly dragged by frontline stocks while mid-caps and small caps saw lower selling pressures. While the CNX midcap index was down 1.6 per cent, BSE small cap index lost nearly 1 per cent. Among the frontline stocks, Ranbaxy Laboratories, lost 8.8 per cent and Reliance Industries dipped 3.4 per cent. Other prominent losers in the pack were Housing Development Finance, DLF and Jaiprakash Associates.
Banking, realty, IT hammered
The BSE realty index was the biggest loser among the sectoral indices, plunging 4.2 per cent or 216 points. Akruti City, shedding 6.5 per cent, was the biggest loser in the group, followed by DLF, Unitech and Peninsula Land. The BSE IT index and banking index also shed 3.5 per cent each.
Despite the sell-off in banking stocks on Friday, some analysts are still bullish on a few banking stocks. “PSU banking stocks are good buys as they are available at very attractive valuations. Investors should avoid auto stocks at this stage,” said Suhas Samant, Head (Portfolio Management), Asit C Mehta Securities.
Weekly gainers included BPCL, which was up 17 per cent for the week. SBI was up 8 per cent while Maruti surged 5.5 per cent. For the week, the banking index advanced 2.2 per cent whereas the metal index dropped 4.7 per cent.
On Friday, Japan’s Nikkei was down 2.75 per cent, while Shanghai Composite shed over 3 per cent.