Mumbai: A storm of frantic unwinding in the midst of lingering worries about upcoming corporate earnings and growth recovery rippled through Indian bourses on Monday with the NSE Nifty tumbling to fresh multi-week lows.
The panic sell-off attributed to several factors as the broader Nifty index nosedived by a massive 157.90 points or 1.83 percent to close at 8,448.10 - its lowest level in over three weeks.
Concerns by foreign investors over retrospective taxation also weighed on trading sentiments, traders said.
Moreover, heightened concerns over the situation in Greece and prospect of defaulting on its debt which could lead to a forced exit from the EU had a negative impact on the financial markets across the globe.
Sentiment on the street took a knock after the global brokerage firm UBS slashed its Nifty target in view of slower-than-expected recovery in growth amid earnings disappointments.
The continued weakness in the domestic currency and some caution with the start of the Budget session of Parliament alongwith uncertainty on tax issues for FIIs too weighed on the market mood.
Meanwhile, country's exports dipped deeper in the negative zone recording a decline of 21 percent in March, the biggest fall in the last six years.
All major sectoral indices finished in the red, with FMCG tumbling a massive 2.41 percent alongside realty 2.75 percent, energy 2.73 percent, infra 2.11 percent, tech 2.04 percent, metal 1.86 percent, auto 1.86 percent, financials 1.27 percent and healthcare 0.43 percent.
Broader markets too witnessed bloodbath with midcap and smallcap indices losing 2.41 percent and 2.38 percent.
Petrochem major Reliance Industries topped selling list with the share falling over 4.45 percent despite strong Q4 earnings. Other major index losers included HDFC, ITC, L&T, Infosys, TCS, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, IDEA, HUL, ONGC, IndusInd Bank, M&M, SBI, HeroMoto, Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Yes Bank, HCL Tech, Wipro, Zee, NTPC, Tech Mahindra, Kotak Bank and NMDC.
While, a handful of stocks withstood the slide were ICICI Bank, Sun Pharma, Lupin, Bank of Baroda, BPCL and ACC.
Turnover in the cash segment slipped to Rs 17,678.19 crore from Rs 17,778.66 crore last Friday. A total of 7,241.84 lakh shares changed hands in 77,41,894 trades. The total market capitalisation of NSE stood at Rs 9,945,822 crore.
