New Delhi, India (BBN)-The BSE benchmark Sensex fell over 100 points in the morning deals on the back of broad-based selling on Thursday.
The 50-share Nifty slipped below its crucial psychological level of 8,050 led by losses in blue-chip stocks like Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, State Bank of India and HDFC Bank, reports NDTV.
The Indian markets have been facing the heat of selling pressure since quite some time now. Yesterday, the Sensex nosedived over 700 points to slip below its important psychological level of 27,000.
The selloff was triggered after the government decided to levy minimum alternate tax (MAT) on the gains made by the foreign institutional investors during the previous years in the Indian stock markets. This combined with poor earnings by the Indian companies and a global selloff in the bond markets is having a toll on the Indian markets.
The foreign institutional investors have been selling Indian shares since last 14 trading sessions and have sold shares worth Rs 13,419 crore since then. Yesterday alone, the FIIs sold shares worth Rs 1,699 crore.
Meanwhile, selling pressure was visible across the sectors. Healthcare, banking, auto, consumer durables and capital goods stocks were among the worst hit. The CNX Pharma index was the top sectoral loser, the index fell 2 per cent. The banking sub-index, Bank Nifty was also quoting weaker by over 1 per cent.
From the Nifty-50 basket of stocks, Lupin ws the top loser. The stock fell 3.4 per cent to Rs 1,694. Asian Paints, UltraTech Cement, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Bank of Baroda, Sun Pharma, HDFC Bank, Punjab National Bank, ICICI Bank and GAIL India were also among the losers on the Nifty.
The broader markets were also facing the heat of selling pressure. The BSE mid-cap and small-cap indices were down 1 and 0.5 per cent each respectively.
At 9:40 a.m., the Sensex was down 78 points at 26,639 and the Nifty fell 46 points to 8,050.
