Sensex sheds over 300 points on global cues; Nifty ends below 11,600

Shedding the gains made earlier in the day, the Indian equity indices plunged nearly 1 per cent on Monday, with the S&P BSE Sensex losing 332.55 points, tracking similar global cues and a slowdown in the manufacturing sector.

Globally, investor sentiments were subdued owing to the concerns of escalations in the US-China trade war, according to analysts.

The Nikkei India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index was registered at 51.7 in August, compared to 52.3 in July, which further dampened the domestic sentiments.

The indices had opened sharply higher on the back of healthy April-June GDP data released last week, but could not hold on to the gains.

Although the market saw a gradual decline from the highs throughout the day, a major drop in the indices occurred around the last hour of trade.

Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in banking, FMCG and auto stocks.

At 3.30 p.m, the Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) provisionally closed at 11,582.35 points, lower 98.15 points or 0.84 per cent from its previous close of 11,680.50 points.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex, which had opened at 38,915.91 points, closed at 38,312.52 points, lower 332.55 points or 0.86 per cent from the previous close of 38,645.07 points.

Volatility in the market can be gauged from the fact that it had hit an intra-day high of 38,934.35 points during the morning session and touched a low of 38,270.01 points by the end of the trade.

The BSE market breadth was largely even with 1,399 declines and 1,353 advances.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Wipro, Tata Motors (DVR), Bajaj Auto, HDFC Bank and Adani Ports, while Hindustan Unilever, Power Grid, ITC, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank lost the most.

--IANS

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