MUMBAI: A sudden selloff during the fag-end of the trading dragged the Indian equities markets benchmark Sensex 703 points down on Tuesday as negative cues from the global equities dampened the investors' sentiments.
The markets witnessed volatile trading. The key indices, Sensex and Nifty, started the day on a positive note. A sudden selloff in the last few minutes of trading dragged the key indices down for the fifth consecutive session. The 30 stock S&P BSE Sensex slumped 703.59 points or 1.23 per cent to 56,463.15 points against its previous day's close at 57,166.74 points.
Earlier, the Sensex started the day in the positive at 57,381.77 points and surged to a high of 57,464.08 points in the intra-day. Heavy selloffs dragged the Sensex down to 56,009.07 points in the intra-day. This is the fifth consecutive session of fall in the Sensex. The benchmark Sensex had lost 1172.19 points or 2.01 per cent on Monday.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange tumbled 215.00 points or 1.25 per cent to 16,958.65 points against its previous day's close at 17,173.65 points. The Nifty 50 had lost 302 points or 1.73 per cent on Monday.
HDFC duo remains top drag on the key indices. HDFC tumbled 5.50 per cent to Rs 2138.65. HDFC Bank slumped 3.73 per cent to Rs 1343.30. Infosys dipped 3.55 per cent to Rs 1563.95.
ITC 3.33 per cent down at Rs 261.45; Tech Mahindra 3.17 per cent down at Rs 1301.60; HCL Technologies 2.87 per cent down at Rs 1071.10; Hindustan Unilever 2.80 per cent down at Rs 2115.75 and Nestle India 2.24 per cent down at Rs 18135 were among the major Sensex losers.
Only four of the 30 scrips that are part of the Sensex closed in the positive. The index heavy weight Reliance Industries surged 3.71 per cent to Rs 2638.45. ICICI Bank, State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance were the other Sensex gainers.