Sensex tanks 306 points; HDFC twins sink

The 30-share index cracked 305.88 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at 38,031.13. It hit an intra-day low of 37,890.32 and a high of 38,333.52.

Mumbai:Extending losses for the third consecutive session, market benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled 306 points at close on Monday led by the carnage in shares of HDFC twins amid weak global cues.

Unabated foreign fund outflows and a depreciating rupee too weighed on investor sentiment here, traders said.

The 30-share index cracked 305.88 points or 0.80 per cent to settle at 38,031.13. It hit an intra-day low of 37,890.32 and a high of 38,333.52.

The broader NSE Nifty sank 82.10 points or 0.72 per cent to close at 11,337.15. During the day, the index hit a low of 11,301.25 and a high of 11,398.15.

HDFC and HDFC Bank were the biggest losers in the Sensex pack, plunging 5.09 per cent and 3.32 per cent, respectively, after the private bank reported a rise in non-performing assets (NPAs).

During the quarter, gross NPAs rose to Rs 11,768.95 crore which is 1.40 per cent of the total advances, compared with Rs 9,538.62 crore which was 1.33 per cent in the same quarter 2018-19 fiscal.

Other losers included Kotak Bank, HUL, Bajaj Finance, ITC, SBI, M&M and PowerGrid, falling up to 3.08 per cent.

Yes Bank was the top gainer, surging 9.49 per cent; followed by Vedanta, RIL, Asian Paints, Maruti and Sun Pharma, ending up to 3.85 per cent higher.

According to experts, the selloff by foreign funds was due to the government's reluctance to tweak foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) income tax surcharge.

Deficient monsoon rains and weak corporate earnings have also impacted the risk sentiment, they said.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 950.15 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares to the tune of Rs 733.92 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed Friday.

Negative cues from other Asian markets too dampened the sentiment here, traders said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, Kospi and Nikkei ended significantly lower.

On the currency front, the Indian rupee depreciated 17 paise to 68.97 against the US dollar (intra-day).

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude futures soared 2.15 per cent to USD 63.82 per barrel after Iran's Revolutionary Guards Friday confiscated a British tanker in the strategic Strait of Hormuz for breaking "international maritime rules".