Sensex sheds 360 points, Nifty closes below 17k amid global rout in equities

Benchmark Sensex declined by 360 points while the Nifty closed below the 17,000-level on Monday due to a sell-off in financials, IT and capital goods shares amid a global rout in equities on lingering worries over the banking crisis.

The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 360.95 points or 0.62 per cent to close at 57,628.95 as 23 of its stocks ended in the red. The index tanked more than 900 points to touch a low of 57,084.91 before recovering some losses at the fag end.

The broader Nifty of the NSE plunged by 111.65 points or 0.65 per cent to close below the 17,000-level at 16,988.40. As many as 40 Nifty stocks declined while 10 advanced.

Analysts said investors fretted over the US banking crisis even as Federal Reserve and other central banks took efforts to ease a fast-growing banking crisis.

"The fear of contagion of the financial crisis has kept investors away from the equity markets as the global market faces numerous hurdles. Despite Swiss regulators' intervention to protect the global financial system, investor sentiment remained shaky," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.

Among Sensex shares, Bajaj Finserv fell the most by 4.08 per cent. Bajaj Finance declined by 3.01 per cent, Tata Steel by 2.2 per cent, Wipro by 2.09 per cent, Tata Motors by 1.96 per cent, IndusInd Bank by 1.9 per cent, SBI by 1.75 per cent, Tech Mahindra by 1.66 per cent and HCL Tech by 1.2 per cent.

TCS, Infosys, Power Grid, Maruti, Reliance, HDFC twins, L&T, M&M, NTPC and Ultratech Cement were also among the losers.

Hindustan Unilever bucked the trend to emerge as the biggest Sensex gainer, rising by 2.45 per cent. ITC, Kotak Bank, Sun Pharma and Nestle also closed higher.