Sensex, Nifty slump nearly 1% amid sharp fall in IndusInd Bank, foreign fund outflows

Declining for the fifth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex on Friday plunged about 660 points to crash below the 80,000 level due to widespread selling pressure tracking massive foreign capital outflows and muted earnings growth.

The BSE Sensex plummeted 662.87 points or 0.83% to settle at 79,402.29. During the day, it plunged 927.18 points or 1.15% to 79,137.98.

The NSE Nifty tanked 218.60 points or 0.90% to 24,180.80.

From the 30 Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank plunged over 18.50 per cent after the firm reported a 40 per cent decline in September quarter net profit at ₹1,331 crore, pulled down by concerns over its asset quality.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finance and Titan were also among the laggards.

From the blue-chip pack, ITC climbed over 2% after the diversified entity reported an 1.8% increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹5,054.43 crore in the second quarter ended September 2024.

In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were the other big gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,062.45 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought ₹3,620.47 crore shares, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher, while Tokyo ended lower.

European equity markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42% to $74.69 a barrel.

In an uninspiring trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex dipped 16.82 points or 0.02% to settle at 80,065.16 on Thursday. The Nifty skidded 36.10 points or 0.15% to 24,399.40 in a volatile trade.