Sensex drops 289 points as selling pressure mounts, Nifty closes at 11,823

Equity benchmark indices traded lower on Friday for the third consecutive session amid rising geopolitical tensions and selling pressure in realty, auto, IT and financial stocks.

The BSE S & P Sensex ended 289 points lower at 39,452 while the Nifty 50 shed 91 points to settle at 11,823. At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), all sectoral indices were in the negative zone.

Shares of Jet Airways sank further by 10.77 per cent to an all-time low at Rs 82.05 per share after NSE said the airline will soon no longer be traded in the derivatives market. In a bid to curb speculative trading, intraday trading in the stock will also be barred from June 28.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Capital suffered a decline of 9.3 per cent to close at Rs 76.55 per share after a series of downgrades by global rating agencies.

Indiabulls Real Estate dipped over 4 per cent, 3.9 per cent and Oberoi Realty 2.3 per cent. Consequently, Nifty Realty index fell by 2.1 per cent.

IndusInd Bank, Indiabulls Housing Finance and Zee Entertainment lost over 4.5 per cent each while Bharti Airtel and Eicher Motors slipped over 2.5 per cent.

However, Adani Gas rose 3.2 per cent after reports that French energy giant Total SA is close to acquiring a 30 per cent stake in the company, Bharti Infratel, Larsen & Toubro, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Adani Ports show thin gains.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks were subdued as China's industrial output grew 5 per cent in May from a year earlier, well below April's 5.4 per cent despite a series of support measures since last year.

Investors remained edgy, fearing a long-drawn trade war with the United States that could push the global economy into recession.

At the same time, the United States blamed Iran for attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman on Thursday that drove up oil prices, raising concerns over a new US-Iranian confrontation that could push up oil prices.