Sensex posts worst day in 10 mths, sinks 1,940 pts amid global meltdown

Mumbai, Feb 26 (PTI): The BSE Sensex crashed about 1,940 points to post its biggest single-day fall in nearly 10 months and the NSE Nifty plunged over 568 points to crack below the psychological 15,000-mark on Friday, tracking global selloffs triggered by a panic in bond markets overseas.
Investors also turned cautious ahead of the third quarter GDP data release, besides keeping an eye on simmering geopolitical tensions between the US and Syria.
At the day’s close, the 30-share BSE Sensex settled 1,939.32 points or 3.80 per cent lower at 49,099.99 its worst one-day fall since May 4 last year.
Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty plunged 568.20 points or 3.76 per cent to close the session at 14,529.15 the biggest single-day drop since March 23 last year.
On the Sensex chart, all 30 constituents ended in the red, with eight scrips logging over 5 per cent drop.
Sectorally, banking index suffered the maximum loss with over 4.8 per cent drop. Financial and telecom indices too fell sharply by 4.9 per cent and 3.85 per cent, respectively.
“Equity markets opened gap down following spike in global bond yields and extended its weakness further as the session progressed. Panic in global bond markets led to sharp rise in yields which spooked investors amid fears of interest rate cycle reversal,” said Hemang Jani, Head of Equity Strategy, Broking & Distribution, Motilal Oswal. Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services, said, “Domestic markets tumbled in line with global trend triggered by a sharp rise in bond yields. Increasing geopolitical tension between the US and Syria aggravated the selling. Q3 GDP data which is to be released today also added volatility in the Indian market.”
Although negative, mid and small caps outperformed their larger indices showing investor confidence, he said, adding the market will gain momentum as the global market is expected to stabilise supported by maintaining accommodative monetary policy and a growing economy.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses closed with heavy losses due to a rout in global bond markets.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with losses in mid-session deals. Most global markets traded lower after Wall Street’s main indexes tumbled, following a steep rise in benchmark US Treasury yields.
Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 1.16 per cent lower at USD 65.34 per barrel.
On the forex market front, the rupee tumbled 104 paise to close at 73.47 against the US dollar.