Mumbai, May 30 (PTI) Falling for the fifth day in a row, benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 1 per cent each on Thursday due to heavy sell-off in metal, consumer durables and select IT shares amid the monthly expiry of derivatives contracts.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged by 617.30 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 73,885.60. The barometer hit the day's low of 73,668.73 due to selling in blue-chips. In the five days of fall, the barometer tanked 1,532 points or 2 per cent. The index has been on a downtrend since May 23 when it closed at its lifetime high level.
The NSE Nifty dropped by 216.05 points or 0.95 per cent to close at 22,488.65. The index has lost 479 points in the five sessions to Thursday.
Analysts said investors remained cautious, ahead of the 2024 general election results, which are set to be announced next week. The electioneering halted on Thursday ahead of the last phase of polls to be held on June 1. The results will be declared on June 4.
"The benchmark index is taking cues from the US market as treasury yields continue to climb following the stickiness of global inflation, delaying the central bank’s interest rates cut policy," Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Titan, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, Nestle India, Tata Motors and JSW Steel were the biggest laggards.
ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, State Bank of India and Kotak Mahindra Bank were the gainers.
"The broader market continued the weak trend, led by profit booking, due to feeble closing of monthly expiry owing to lack of interest to hold short-term positions, as exit poll is slated in the weekend," Nair said.
Sensex and the NSE Nifty have experienced their fifth consecutive session of losses, resulting in investors losing nearly Rs 10 lakh crore in market wealth.
The BSE midcap gauge declined 1.21 per cent, while smallcap index plunged 1.33 per cent.
Among the indices, metal dropped 2.67 per cent, consumer durables and Commodities went lower 2.05 per cent each, IT (1.97 per cent), healthcare (1.64 per cent), Teck (1.54 per cent), Auto (1.37 per cent), and Services (1.25 per cent).
Bankex was the only gainer.
As many as 2,622 stocks declined while 1,190 advanced and 105 remained unchanged on the BSE.
According to market experts, weak global cues, rising US bond yields, and waning hopes of early interest rate cuts have also contributed to the recent rout in the stock markets.
Shares of Edelweiss Financial Services tumbled nearly 12 per cent after the Reserve Bank imposed business restrictions on Edelweiss Group's lending and asset reconstruction arms on concerns over evergreening of loans.
Tata Steel plunged nearly 6 per cent after the homegrown steelmaker reported a 64.59 per cent decline in its net profit for the January-March quarter of 2023-24, on lower realisations and certain exceptional items.
On the other hand, Samvardhna Motherson International shares settled nearly 3 per cent higher. During the day, the stock hit its 52-week high of Rs 152.65 apiece.
Also, shares of co-working space operator Awfis Space Solutions jumped more than 9 per cent in the debut trade on the exchange.
Shares of One97 Communications, which owns the brand Paytm, on Thursday jumped 5 per cent to hit its upper circuit limit for the second straight session amid reports that Adani and Paytm were in talks to acquire a stake in the fintech company.
However, One97 Communications Ltd on Wednesday said it is not in talks to sell a stake to the Adani Group, while the Gujarat-based conglomerate has also termed such reports as "false and untrue".
In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Shanghai settled lower.
European markets were trading with gains, while US markets ended in the negative territory on Wednesday.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,841.84 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.
The last phase of polling is scheduled for June 1. The results of the ongoing general elections will be declared on June 4.
Global oil benchmark Brent Crude fell 0.41 per cent to USD 83.19 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 667.55 points or 0.89 per cent to settle at 74,502.90. The NSE Nifty dropped 183.45 points or 0.80 per cent to close at 22,704.70.