Sensex Erases 2019 Gains; Slumps 470 Points As Pain Continues
After a brief respite on Wednesday, the Sensex and the Nifty dived once again in trade, despite relatively quieter global markets. In fact, Europe extended gains on Thursday after the U.S. Federal Reserve sent mixed signals on further easing.
The Sensex ended lower by 470 points, while the Nifty ended lower by 135 points in trade. Yes Bank, Zee Entertainment, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, TCS, Hero Motor Corp and Reliance Industries were the stocks dragging the indices lower.
Shares fell largely as markets expected Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to announce some more measures on Wednesday, but, were largely disappointed. Apart from this, the US Fed did not signal any agressive measures to cut interest rates.
Among the Sensex gainers were Tata Motors and Bharti Airtel.
After a day's respite, oil marketing companies saw their shares drop, as crude resumed its upward journey once again. HPCL, BPCL and Indian Oil all saw their shares declining in trade.
Shares in PNB Housing Finance hit a new record low, as investors continued to dump housing finance company stocks. Yes Bank took it on the chin and dived a huge 15 per cent in trade, as investors dumped the stock.
The Nifty media index was the worst performing index. European markets were trading higher, with the German DAX, French CAC and the UK's FTSE all higher.
Meanwhile, the rupee was relatively flat in trade.