The Indian equity benchmarks continued to plunge for the fifth straight session on Monday amid weak global cues. Asian share markets slipped as investors braced for a Federal Reserve meeting at which it is expected to confirm it will soon start draining the massive lake of liquidity that has supercharged growth stocks in recent years.
As of 12:04 pm, the 30-share BSE Sensex pack was down 1,056 points or 1.79 percent at 57,981 and the broader NSE Nifty slumped 317 points or 1.80 percent to 17,301.
Mid- and small-cap shares were in the negative zone as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 3.37 percent and small-cap shares were trading 4.20 percent lower.
“With gap-down openings tracking weak global cues, markets are likely to continue their sluggish trend,” said Gaurav Garg, Head of Research, Capitalvia Global Research Ltd.
On the stock-specific front, JSW Steel was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 3.41 percent to ₹ 643.55. Divi’s Lab Hindalco, Bajaj Finserv, and HDFC Life were also among the laggards.
Also, Zomato and Paytm shares fell 18.48 percent and 5.64 percent, respectively, to hit their lowest levels since listing.
The overall market breadth was weak as 496 shares were advancing while 2,992 were declining on BSE.
