Sensex tanks 400 points to touch a low of 33,581; metals, banks drag equities lower amid sell-offs

Mumbai: Heavy selling pressure in metals, banking, capital goods, auto and oil and gas stocks dragged the key Indian equity indices lower on Monday, with the benchmark Sensex tanking over 300 points. At one point of time, the Sensex dropped over 400 points to touch a low of 33,581.10 points. Index heavyweights like Tata Steel, State Bank of India, Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma and Adani Ports were the top five laggards on the BSE. [caption id=“attachment_4357933” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Getty Images.[/caption] Around 1.15 pm, the barometer 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex), which opened at 34,053.95 points, traded at 33,640.79 points – down 369.97 points or 1.09 percent from its previous close. The BSE market breadth was bearish as 2,109 stocks declined as against 536 advances. On the the National Stock Exchange, the wider Nifty50 shed 119.05 points or 1.14 percent to trade at 10,333.25 points. “PSU banks continued to fall after the Punjab National Bank disclosed a Rs 11,400 crore fraud eroding nearly Rs 9,000 crore in market cap in three sessions,” Dhruv Desai, Director and Chief Operating Officer of Tradebulls, told IANS. The Nifty PSU Bank index plunged by 5.65 percent on the NSE. On Friday, the equity indices closed in the negative territory as heavy selling pressure in banks, along with rising crude oil prices, dampened investors’ risk-taking appetite. The NSE Nifty50 declined by 93.20 points or 0.88 percent to close at 10,452.30 points, while the BSE Sensex closed at 34,010.76 points – down 286.71 points or 0.84 percent.