Key Indian equity markets plunge during afternoon session

Spooked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's hint of raising taxes on stock market income, the key Indian equity market indices plunged further during afternoon trade on Monday.

The wider 50-scrip Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) was trading 71.90 points or 0.90 percent down at 7,913.85 points.

The Sensex of the BSE, which opened at 25,992.41 points, was trading at 25,828.06 points (at 1.07 p.m.) in the afternoon session, down 212.64 points or 0.82 per cent from the previous day's close at 26,040.70 points.

The Sensex touched a high of 26,008.57 points and a low of 25,753.74 points in the trade so far.

Almost all the sectors were trading in the red. Heavy selling pressure was seen in metal, realty, healthcare and basic materials.

The S&P BSE metal index plunged by 2.95 per cent, the realty index by 2.28 per cent, the healthcare index by 2.03 per cent and the basic materials index by 1.99 per cent.

--IANS

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