Snapping a five-day bull run, stocks reteated due to fresh selling and profit booking amidst global bearishness, with the benchmark CNX Nifty plunging by a massive 64 points, a day after a record high closing on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).
FMCG frontline heavyweights mainly spearheaded the sell-off, even as healthcare, finance, technology, energy, infra and auto related stocks joined the fray.
The NSE bellwether its conquered lifetime closing high during the special Diwali 'Muhurat' trading on Sunday.
After a sluggish start, key equity indices continued their dramatic descent following heavy selling, as investors seemed reluctant to jump in due to the recent sharp rise in share values amidst uncertainty over when the Federal Reserve would start paring its stimulus.
Reeling under intense selling pressure, the benchmark extended losses to touch the lowest points of the day, before finding some low-level support.
Overall sentiment was also dampened after an HSBC survey showed that India's services sector continued to contract for the fourth successive month due to economic uncertainty.
The 50-share index touched a high of 6,304.75 and a low of 6,244.30 before concluding at 6,253.15, registering a sharp loss of 64.20 points, or 1.02 per cent.
Amidst the sell-off, FMCG major ITC topped among the laggards, followed by ICICI Bank, Power Grid, Dr Reddy's, Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy, TCS, Sesa Sterlite, Bank of Baroda and HUL, while key index stock gainers included BPCL, NMDC, DLF, Asian Paints, JP Associates, Hindalco, Coal India, Tata Motors, PNB and IndusInd Bank.
The turnover in the cash segment was substantially higher 12,845.45 crore. A total of 7,944.35 lakh shares changed hands in 70,67,448 trades, while market capitalisation stood at Rs 67,16,323 crore.
