Sensex Ends 733 Points Lower, Nifty Below 22,500; India VIX Spikes 10%

Indian equities took a sharp U-turn mid-day on Friday, ending deep in the red amid broad-based selling. The S&P BSE Sensex shed 733 points, or 0.98 per cent, to end at 73,878. The Nifty50 closed at 22,476, down 173 points or 0.76 per cent.

The BSE Sensex plunged 1,143 points intraday to hit a low of 73,468, while the Nifty50 slipped below the 22,350-mark.

24 of the 30 Sensex stocks, and 35 of the 50 Nifty stocks closed in the negative zone led by L&T, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries, Nestle India, JSW Steel, and Bharti Airtel. These stocks tumbled between 1.7 per cent and 2.7 per cent.

In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices declined 0.2 per cent and 0.55 per cent, respectively. India VIX, meanwhile, surged nearly 9 per cent.

Among sectors, the Nifty REalty index dropped 1 per cent, followed by the Nifty IT, Auto, and PSU Bank indices (down 0.7 per cent each).

Experts View

“Global and domestic cues are positive for the markets. The decline in dollar index to 105.3, correction in the US 10-year bond yield to around 4.5% and Brent crude below $ 84 will further strengthen the bulls. The strong pillar of support for this market is the strong buying by DIIs facilitated by the sustained flow of funds. This trend is unlikely to change anytime soon,” said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.

Deven Mehata, Research Analyst at Choice Broking, said, “Nifty can find support at 22,650 followed by 22,600 and 22,550. On the higher side, 22,800 can be an immediate resistance, followed by 22,850 and 22,900.”

Nifty Technicals