Sensex closes 581 points down; Nifty slides 0.97 per cent on negative global cues

Mumbai: The Indian equities markets key indices close in the negative for the sixth time in the past seven trading sessions on Thursday with Sensex and Nifty 50 sliding by around 1 per cent.

The stock markets opened sharply down on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve gave signal on interest rate hike and reaffirmed halting the bond-buying programme. The benchmark Sensex opened in the red at 57,317.38 points and tumbled to a low of 56,439.36 points in the intra-day.

The last hour recovery in the banking and auto stocks helped the benchmark indices recover some losses. However, it was not enough to help the index turn into positive terrain.

The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex closed the day at 57,276.94 points, which is 581.21 points or 1.00 per cent down from its previous session's close at 57,858.15 points.

The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange closed 167.80 points or 0.97 per cent down at 17,110.15 points against its previous session's close at 17,277.95 points.

The Nifty opened in the red at 17,062.00 points and slumped to a low of 16,866.75 points in the intra-day. It touched a high of 17,182.50 points during the day.
Some banking and auto stocks witnessed good buying support in the last hour of the trade.

Axis Bank surged 2.81 per cent to Rs 773.10. State Bank of India soared 2.75 per cent to Rs 529. Maruti Suzuki jumped 2.52 per cent to Rs 8817.25.

Other major Sensex gainers included: Kotak Bank 2.02 per cent higher at Rs 1889.45; Sun Pharma 0.64 per cent higher at Rs 812.20; IndusInd Bank 0.62 per cent higher at Rs 888.25; Mahindra & Mahindra 0.40 per cent higher at Rs 857.40 and ITC 0.21 per cent higher at Rs 214.65.

There was heavy selling pressure in IT stocks. HCL Technologies tumbled 4.17 per cent to Rs 1077.90. Tech Mahindra dipped 3.66 per cent to Rs 1445.65; Wipro slumped 3.22 per cent to Rs 544.75. TCS fell 3.18 per cent to Rs 3650.10 and Infosys closed 2.15 per cent down at Rs 1685.

Other major Sensex losers included: Dr Reddy's Laboratories 3.42 per cent down at Rs 4256.45; Titan 2.90 per cent down at Rs 2310.45; Nestle India 2.15 per cent down at Rs 18391.90; Power Grid Corporation 1.83 per cent down at Rs 214.75 and Tata Steel 1.80 per cent down at Rs 1088.75.