Mumbai: Equities on Friday sank the most in six weeks as the Sensex crashed 267 points to settle below 30,000 while the Nifty climbed down from an all-time high after global weakness due to a renewed slide in crude prices.
In the process, the 30-share Sensex wiped off all its gains of yesterday. It hit a low of 29,823.60 before ending at 29,858.80, down 267.41 points, or 0.89 percent, its biggest single day fall since March 22 when it had lost 317.77 points.
The index had risen 231.41 points in the previous session on the back of optimism that the new NPA framework will give more teeth to the RBI to tackle the burgeoning bad loans. The market also welcomed reforms in the infrastructure space in the form of the New Steel Policy as announced by the Cabinet.
The 50-issue NSE, which surpassed its previous record of 9,367.15 during the day, closed lower by 74.60 points, or 0.80 percent, at 9,285.30, as investors took profit off the table.
On a weekly basis, both -- the Sensex and the Nifty -- logged losses of 59.60 points, or 0.19 percent, and 18.75 points, or 0.20 per cent, respectively, for the first week of May.
Oil hurtled down to a five-month low of $43.76 a barrel in New York on Friday. Sentiment soured, in line with a sluggish trend in global markets following the drop in crude and fresh fall in commodities, including base metals, sparking concerns about the health of the global economy.
Meanwhile, President Pranab Mukherjee signed the ordinance to amend the Banking Regulation Act, giving RBI powers to direct banks to initiate insolvency and bankruptcy in case of default.
"Markets remained edgy following a sharp plunge in oil which also dragged metal stocks lower. Meanwhile, President's nod for NPA ordinance and expectations towards key banking amendments kept investors interested," said Anand James, Chief Market Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Foreign funds persisted with outflows as FIIs sold shares net worth Rs 601.13 crore in the previous session, according to provisional figures.
Shares of oil explorers were among the hardest hit following weaker crude oil prices, with ONGC and Oil India slumping 2.83 percent and 2.98 percent, respectively.
Selling also spread to broader markets as BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices both fell.
Asian indices like China, Hong Kong and Taiwan turned weak. Markets in Japan and South Korea were shut for a public holiday.
European indices were no exception as softness in oil prices made investors anxious about the ongoing global recovery.
In the Sensex-30 heatmap, Tata Motors languished the most by falling 3.84 percent, followed by Axis Bank (2.70 percent), GAIL (2.49 percent) and RIL (2.22 percent).
Coming to sectors, metal fell 2.47 percent, along with oil and gas, PSU, FMCG and power.
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