Falling for a third consecutive session, the stock benchmark Sensex on Monday fell 900 points to close below 59,000 as banking, financial and auto stocks sold off amid the biggest US bank failures.
Besides, unrestrained flight of foreign capital and a weaker domestic currency amid global inflation fears added to the gloom, traders said.
After gaining 375 points in early trade, the BSE Sensex could not sustain the gains and settled down 897.28 points, or 1.52 percent, at 58,237.85 as 29 of its constituents declined while only one advanced. During the day, it touched a low of 58,094.55 and a high of 59,510.92.
The NSE Nifty ended down 258.60 points, or 1.49 per cent, at 17,154.30, with 45 scrips of it ending in the red.
In the Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank fell 7.46 percent, followed by SBI, Tata Motors, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank and Infosys.
Instead, Tech Mahindra was the only winner.
In the broader market, the BSE smallcap gauge fell 2.08 percent and the midcap index shed 1.82 percent.
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US-based SVB Financials, which mainly funds start-ups, fell 60 percent in the US market last week, fueling concerns about the health of the banks’ bonds and its potential ripple effects globally.
“… jitters from the biggest US bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis drove investors to safer assets,” said Navneet Damani, Senior VP – Commodity Research, Motilal Oswal Financial Services.
Among Asian markets, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended in the green, while Tokyo settled lower.
European stock markets traded with significant losses in afternoon trade.
Meanwhile, the rupee fell 10 paise to 82.16 against the US dollar on Monday.
International oil benchmark Brent crude was down 1.79 percent at $81.30 a barrel.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) offloaded shares worth ₹2,061.47 crore on Friday, exchange data showed.
