Indian Stocks Reverse Course to End in Red; Nifty Hits 6-Month Low

Benchmark indices reverse course after opening marginally positive; Sensex falls 143 points, Nifty at 6-month low.

Markets reverse course in afternoon trade to end in the red. (Photo: Reuters)

The domestic equity market tanked on Tuesday, as the bears took charge on Dalal Street after crude oil prices slumped below the $31 a barrel mark for the first time in 12 years.

Bank stocks led the slump, after December quarter numbers of two lenders showed a spike in bad loans, raising fresh asset quality concerns.

The S&P BSE Sensex slumped to its fresh 52-week low in intraday trade before closing 143 points lower at 24,680. 54.The 50-share Nifty made its fresh 52-week low, ending the day at 7,510, down 54 points. Federal Bank and Gruh Finance were the top losers on the BSE benchmark.

Selling pressure from foreign investors pulled the domestic benchmark indices lower, continuing their recent weak trend. The counters of Axis Bank, HDFC, TCS, HDFC Bank saw maximum selling.

The broader market indices underperformed the benchmark indices with the BSE midcap and smallcap indices ending the day lower by 0.94 and 1.03 per cent, respectively. Among the sectoral indices, the BSE telecom was the top loser followed by BSE bankex and BSE Finance.

European markets traded with smart gains bucking the selling pressure seen in some of the Asian markets.

Earlier in the day, other Asian markets ended on a mixed note. Japan’s Nikkei fell to its three-month low, closing 2.71 per cent lower. The South Korean Kospi was down 0.21 per cent at close. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended the day 1 per cent lower while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.35 per cent.