Sensex Sinks 250 Points As Petrol, Diesel Prices Surge

Updated: Thursday, May 17, 2018, 15:34 [IST]

The Nifty ended lower for the third straight day, as investors continued profit booking, as worries over rising interest rates and fuel prices continued to pull down markets.

Petrol and diesel prices were trading near their peak levels, leaving investors worried over a possible interest rate hike by the RBI next month. Brent Crude was set to cross near the $80 per barrel mark, even as petrol prices in cities like Delhi remained just one per cent below peak levels.

Sensex Sinks 250 Points As Petrol, Diesel Prices Surge

The Sensex ended the day lower by 238 points, while the Nifty dropped 58 points in trade. The most volatile stock today was clearly the shares of Reliance Communications, which surged as much as 50 per cent at one stage, after reports that the company was looking at an "out of court" settlement with Ericsson.

The stock ended trade at a staggering 56 per cent higher at Rs 16.10. Several stocks reacted to their quarterly numbers. Tata Steel which reported numbers after market hours on Wednesday ended lower by 1.5 per cent.

Shares of Taj GVK gained as much as 2.5 percent to Rs 228 after it reported a good set of numbers for the quarter ending March 3, 2018. The shares were trading with higher than the average daily volumes.

Skipper share price plunged 7 percent after the company's operational performance was weak for the March quarter. Profit for the quarter dipped 15.2 percent to Rs 49.3 crore, when compared to Rs 58.2 crore while revenue increased marginally at 5 percent to Rs 592.9 crore from Rs 564.4 crore YoY.

Meanwhile, markets are expected to be volatile over rising crude prices and also over political drama unfolding in Karnataka. Indian markets would continue to see volatility ahead of the RBI policy next month. The central bank's commentary on inflation would be eagerly awaited. The rupee meanwhile was steady in trade.

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