Sensex Plunges By Over 550 points, Nifty at 10,600

Representative image: Reuters

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New Delhi: The Sensex plunged by over 550 points and Nifty neared the 10,600 mark as traders were cautious ahead of the results of Assembly elections in five states and heavy selloff in metal and oil stocks ahead of the OPEC meeting to discuss production policy.

Weakness in Asian equities was also a key factor for the fall. Global investor sentiment was weak as the chances of peaceful trade negotiations between the US and China dimmed on news that Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou had been held in Canada and faces extradition to the United States over alleged Iran sanctions breaches by the firm.

At 3.35pm the Sensex was down 572 points at 35,312.13 and the Nifty fell 181.7 points to 10,601.

All sectoral indices were trading with losses, led by metal, oil and gas, realty, FMCG, auto and banking stocks.
Domestic investor sentiment was also weak after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Wednesday expectedly kept interest rates unchanged.

Oil prices extended losses ahead of the meeting of Opec and non-Opec production companies. Brent crude, the international benchmark, was trading 0.83 per cent lower at USD 61.05 per barrel.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was down 2.26 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.06 per cent and Shanghai Composite Index edged lower by 1.28 per cent in early trade.

Wall Street was closed for trade on Wednesday. the Dow Jones Industrial Average index cracked 799.36 points, or 3.10 per cent, to 25,027.07 on Tuesday.​