Sensex tanks over 400 points, Nifty falls below 9,800; Infosys plunges 12%

NEW DELHI: Extending losses for the day, benchmark indices cracked with BSE Sensex plunging 412 points or 1.30 per cent to 31,383.31, while Nifty5o fell below 9,800 mark and was trading at 9,796.25 at around 1.20 pm.

Shares of Infosys (down 11.64 per cent) was the major drag on indices, followed by Sun Pharma (down 3.36 per cent), Coal India (down 1.90 per cent) and Tata Motors (down 1.74 per cent).

On the flipside, TCS (up 1.46 per cent), Power Grid (up 1.30 per cent), Hindustan Unilever (up 1.05 per cent) were the top gainers on the index.

All sectoral indices were trading in the red with Nifty IT bleeding the most, losing as much as 2.41 per cent to 10,537.75. It was followed by Nifty Pharma index which was trading 2.29 per cent down at 8,595.90.

11.55 AM: BSE Sensex lost as many as 247 points or 0.78 per cent at 31,548.18 while Nifty50 was trading 0.61 per cent or 60 points down at 9,843.

Barring Nifty FMCG (up 0.80 per cent), all sectoral indices were trading in the red. Nifty Pharma bled the most, losing 1.98 per cent at 8,623.05.

In the commodities space, Gold prices were trading higher in futures trade on account of rise in speculative bets amid supportive global cues.

MCX Silver was up 0.12 per cent, or Rs 36, at Rs 29187 per 10 gram, whereas MCX Silver was down 0.24 per cent, or Rs 93 at Rs 3,9005.

Also read: Separation blues: Vishal Sikka updates Twitter bio, posts e-mail on personal blog

9.40 am: Sensex tanks 200 pts, Nifty50 below 9,850; Infosys cracks 7% on Sikka's resignation
Benchmark indices opened on a negative note on Friday amid a sharp fall in Infosys shares after Vishal Sikka resigned as company MD and CEO. Weakness across Asian markets following an overnight slump in US equities, and terror attack in Spain amplified the concerns.

At 9.40 am, the BSE Sensex was trading 245 points, or 0.77 per cent, lower at 31,550. Selling in heavyweight Infosys led the fall. Nifty50 was trading 75 points, or 0.77 per cent, lower at 9,828.30.

Infosys cracked 7 per cent to hit a low of Rs 947.50 on BSE. The company on Friday said its board of directors has accepted the resignation of Vishal Sikka as managing director and CEO of the company with immediate effect. Sikka will now be the executive vice-chairman. U B Pravin Rao has been appointed interim chief executive officer and managing director reporting to Sikka under the overall supervision and control of the company’s board.

Sun Pharma, HDFC, Tata Motors and SBI declined 1.49 per cent, 1.45 per cent, 1.40 per cent and 1.21 per cent, respectively.

TCS, Power Grid, ITC and M&M rose 2.45 per cent, 1.85 per cent, 1.38 per cent and 0.78 per cent, respectively.