Sensex Crashes 778 Points, Nifty Slumps 280 Points Below 23,200

Mumbai: Indian equity markets ended sharply lower on September 15 as widespread selling battered heavyweight and broader-market shares. Weak global cues and continued foreign investor outflows further dampened sentiment.

The Sensex plunged 778 points, or 1.04 percent, to close at 74,004. The Nifty declined 280 points, or 1.19 percent, ending the session at 23,119.

Broader Markets Bleed

Losses were steeper across the broader market. The Midcap 50 dropped 373 points, or 2.08 percent, to settle at 17,556, while the Smallcap 50 tumbled 235 points, or 2.36 percent, to 9,714.

Auto, metal, pharmaceutical

, realty and banking shares witnessed heavy selling pressure, dragging the key indices lower during the session.

Information technology stocks, however, offered some support. HCL Technologies emerged as the leading Nifty gainer, rising 3.95 percent to Rs 1,254. Infosys advanced 3.79 percent to Rs 1,077, while TCS gained 2.28 percent to Rs 2,251.

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Among the major laggards, BEL fell 5.30 percent to Rs 383. Shriram Finance declined 4.74 percent to Rs 980, while Adani Enterprises slipped 4.29 percent to Rs 2,929.

Global Markets Remain Weak

Most Asian markets traded lower. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.85 percent to close at 6,627, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng declined 1.03 percent to 24,671. Japan’s Nikkei remained nearly flat, slipping 0.01 percent to 63,484.

US stocks had also closed lower in the previous session. The Dow Jones fell 152 points, or 0.29 percent, to 52,421. The Nasdaq dropped 147 points, or 0.56 percent, to 26,186, while the S&P 500 declined 37 points, or 0.48 percent, to 7,620.

Foreign Investors Continue Selling

Foreign institutional investors sold shares worth Rs 931 crore in the latest session. Their net selling reached Rs 1,952 crore over seven days and Rs 11,069 crore over 30 days.

Domestic institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 1,968 crore in the latest session, taking their 30-day net buying to Rs 66,202 crore. The Sensex had closed 121 points lower on Friday.