Closing Bell: Selling pressure engulfs Indian market, Sensex tanks over 1000 points

Domestic equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty plummeted on Monday, extending their fall to the third straight session amid selling across all sectors. However, due to strong quarterly results, state-run banks surged.

Indian domestic indices ended lower for the third consecutive day on February 7 as selling was witnessed in auto, FMCG, IT, bank, healthcare, realty, capital goods stocks.

At the closing bell on Monday, the Sensex was down 1,023.63 points or 1.75% at 57,621.19, and the Nifty was down 302.70 points or 1.73% at 17,213.60. During today's trade, the 30-scrip Sensex plunged as much as 1,345.8 points and the 50-scrip Nifty went as low as 17,119.4, down 396.9 points from its previous close. On the market breadth, around 1389 shares have advanced, 2044 shares declined, and 131 shares are unchanged.

Top Nifty losers on a bleeding day were Tata Consumer Products, HDFC Bank, HDFC Life, L&T and Bajaj Finance, while top gainers included Power Grid Corp, ONGC, NTPC, Shree Cements and Tata Steel.

On the sectoral front, except PSU bank, metal and power all other sectoral indices ended in the red with auto, FMCG, IT, bank, healthcare, realty, capital goods shedding 1-2%. In the broader markets, BSE Midcap and smallcap indices fell 0.75-1.25%.

Tata Consumer Products was the top Nifty drag as the stock cracked 3.87% to Rs 705.40. L&T, HDFC Bank, Britannia and HDFC Life were also among the laggards.

In other news, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has rescheduled the meeting of the rate-setting Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) by a day because of Maharashtra declaring a public holiday on February 7 to mourn the death of Bharat Ratna legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar.

The meeting will now begin on February 8 and the outcome would be announced on February 10.

Also read: F&O Cues: Key support & resistance levels for Nifty 50