Sensex Drops 500 Points: Profit Booking and Global Cues Weigh on Markets

Dalal Street witnessed a sharp decline on Friday, with the Sensex and Nifty falling over half a percent within hours of trading. The indices opened marginally lower and continued to slide as the session progressed.

The fall paused the recent uptrend driven by optimism over GST reforms and S&P’s sovereign rating upgrade. Over the past six sessions, Sensex and Nifty had gained 2.2% and 2.4%, respectively.

At 10:45 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 560.39 points at 81,447.54, while the NSE Nifty50 lost 165.55 points to 24,977.94.

Sector Movers
Asian Paints led the decline with a 1.62% drop, followed by HCL Technologies (-1.61%), ITC (-1.42%), HDFC Bank (-1.35%), and Tech Mahindra (-1.32%). Heavyweights dragging the indices lower highlighted early signs of market pressure.

On the upside, Bharat Electronics rose 0.99%, Mahindra & Mahindra gained 0.74%, Sun Pharmaceutical added 0.29%, Trent inched up 0.17%, and Maruti Suzuki climbed 0.12%.

Why the Market is Falling
“This is a case of profit booking after a four-to-five session uptrend,” said Kranthi Bathini, Equity Strategist at WealthMills Securities Pvt Ltd.

He added, “The market struggled to hold above the 25,000 level for Nifty. Whenever it slips below this mark, we see selling pressure and profit booking.”

Bathini also noted that investors are awaiting cues from global markets, particularly insights from the Federal Reserve commentary at the upcoming Jackson Hole meeting.