NEW DELHI: Dragged by IT shares and weak quarterly results, the benchmark BSE sensex index plunged more than 800 points to close at 66,684 on Friday.
Similarly, the Nifty also closed 234 points lower at 19,745.
The drop in sensex and Nifty comes after six consecutive sessions of gains, in which both Indian indices reached new all-time highs. The sensex had risen 474.46 points, or 0.71 percent, to settle at its new all-time closing high of 67,571.90 on Thursday.
One of the main reasons behind Friday’s decline was the downward revision of the forecasts of the major IT company Infosys. The IT sector experienced a sharp drop of 4.09%, driven mainly by infosyswhich faced a significant loss of more than 8%, which had a negative impact on the general market sentiment.
Following the release of its first quarter figures, Hindustan Unilever also witnessed a noticeable slowdown. Hindustan Unilever lost 3.67% after missing earnings expectations for the June quarter due to higher costs.
Additionally, index heavyweight Reliance Industries declined 3.10% ahead of June quarter results, which were scheduled to be released on Friday after market hours.
On the upside, Larsen & Toubro performed well, gaining 3.88% and hitting a new record after winning a construction order worth Rs 70,000 crore. The company also planned to consider a proposal for the repurchase of equity shares and the payment of special dividends. In addition, Union Bank of India saw a significant jump of almost 4%, sending public sector banks up 0.25%, following the announcement of higher profits in the June quarter.
The record rally of the past few days helped sensex rise more than 10,000 points from the year low of 57,527 seen on March 24.
Strong purchases of foreign funds, good monsoon progress, a stable currency, proactive measures by the RBI that have successfully controlled inflation, have all combined to push indices to new highs on a regular basis, market participants said.
Along with India, other stocks in Asia also fell, following weakness on Wall Street overnight, as lackluster earnings from Tesla and Netflix and concerns about a prolonged regime of high interest rates in the US weighed on sentiment.
(With contributions from agencies)
Similarly, the Nifty also closed 234 points lower at 19,745.
The drop in sensex and Nifty comes after six consecutive sessions of gains, in which both Indian indices reached new all-time highs. The sensex had risen 474.46 points, or 0.71 percent, to settle at its new all-time closing high of 67,571.90 on Thursday.
One of the main reasons behind Friday’s decline was the downward revision of the forecasts of the major IT company Infosys. The IT sector experienced a sharp drop of 4.09%, driven mainly by infosyswhich faced a significant loss of more than 8%, which had a negative impact on the general market sentiment.
Following the release of its first quarter figures, Hindustan Unilever also witnessed a noticeable slowdown. Hindustan Unilever lost 3.67% after missing earnings expectations for the June quarter due to higher costs.
Additionally, index heavyweight Reliance Industries declined 3.10% ahead of June quarter results, which were scheduled to be released on Friday after market hours.
On the upside, Larsen & Toubro performed well, gaining 3.88% and hitting a new record after winning a construction order worth Rs 70,000 crore. The company also planned to consider a proposal for the repurchase of equity shares and the payment of special dividends. In addition, Union Bank of India saw a significant jump of almost 4%, sending public sector banks up 0.25%, following the announcement of higher profits in the June quarter.
The record rally of the past few days helped sensex rise more than 10,000 points from the year low of 57,527 seen on March 24.
Strong purchases of foreign funds, good monsoon progress, a stable currency, proactive measures by the RBI that have successfully controlled inflation, have all combined to push indices to new highs on a regular basis, market participants said.
Along with India, other stocks in Asia also fell, following weakness on Wall Street overnight, as lackluster earnings from Tesla and Netflix and concerns about a prolonged regime of high interest rates in the US weighed on sentiment.
(With contributions from agencies)