Nifty tanks 64 pts as uncertainty continue to plague investors

Indian markets suffered another nasty jolt with the benchmark Nifty plunging below the significant 8,600-mark as widespread selling remained unabated for the third-straight day amid potential Fed rate hike speculation.
The NSE flagship index, CNX Nifty nosedived by 64 points to end at 8,570.90 - its lowest close in 1-1/2 month with several front line stocks reeling under a severe bout of unwinding.
After sluggish start, bourses remained firmly under the grip of selling pressure throughout the day triggered by a chain of woes that have haunted investors sentiment.
Uncertainty over the growth outlook and apprehension ahead of an eventual Q4 corporate earnings announcements against the backdrop of Federal Reserve rate hike speculation are the few big factors associated with the recent panic and irrational selling.

Financial markets across globe had cheered the more dovish than expected Federal Reserve's stance on monetary policy in the previous session, which signaled that the central bank is not in a hurry to hike interest rates and had not "decided on the timing" of the first rate increase in nearly nine years.
Meanwhile, the Rajya Sabha today approved the mines Bill to replace the ordinance.

The recent downtrend seems to be just a normal correction rather than any big-cat unwinding, but there could be more pain ahead in the short term, a floor trader commented.
The broad-based 50-share Nifty opened lower at 8,627.90 and plummeted to an intra-day low of 8,553 before ending at 8,570.90, a massive loss of 63.75 points, or 0.74 per cent.

Elsewhere, other Asian equities mostly advanced with Tokyo and Shanghai indices finishing the week at new highs.
Rate-sensitive Realty bore the brunt of selling among the sectoral peers with the indices tumbling by 3.88 per cent. It followed by FMCG 2.11 per cent, Auto 1.53 per cent, Healthcare 1.39 per cent, Banking 1.09 per cent, Energy 0.97 per cent and Metal 0.94 per cent, while Technology sector bucked the trend.
Mid-cap and Small-cap too crumbled under renewed intense selling, severely underperforming the benchmark.
Among the worst performers included NTPC, ICICI Bank, ITC, HUL, M&M, Sun Pharma, Tata Motors, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, SBI, L&T, BHEL, BPCL, Heromotoco, GAIL, ZEE, Tech-M, Cipla, Tata Steel, Sesa Sterlite, Maruti, Ultratech and Reliance.

However, a handful of frontline stocks withstood market carnage and posted gains were Infosys, HDFC, Wipro, TCS, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank, Power Grid, Ambuja cement and Cairn.
Turnover in the cash segment jumped to Rs 20,175.18 crore against Rs 18,595.69 crore yesterday. A total of 9,709.31 lakh shares changed hands in 82,52,316 trades. The market capitalisation at NSE stood at Rs 99,85,772 crore.