Sensex plunges 443 pts in afternoon trade on profit-booking

The benchmark BSE Sensex dipped below the 29,000-mark by losing over 443 points during mid-session trading today on profit-booking and wiped off all initial gains.
After rising to 29,183.76 in morning trade following passage of Insurance Bill in Parliament, the Sensex fell back to trade lower by 443.64 points, or 1.53 per cent, to quote at 28,486.77 during mid-session trading.
Sentiments were dampened after participants turned hesitant and indulged in selling activity following data showing retail inflation rose more-than-expected to 5.37 per cent in February, brokers said.
Prominent losers that dragged down the key indices were BHEL, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank, ITC, Sun Pharma, L&T, Tata Steel, ICICI Bank, Wipro, Tata Power, Dr Reddy, Cipla, Sesa Sterlite and SBI.

The 30-share Sensex had gained over 271 points in the previous session.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty succumbed to all-round selling and was quoting lower by 136.40 points, or 1.55 per cent, at 8,639.60 after hitting a high of 8,849.75 in early trade.