A panic unwinding in banking stocks following RBI's renewed effort to curb rupee volatility took its toll on the bourses today as the NSE benchmark CNX Nifty plunged by 87 points and closed below the 6,000 mark.
In a fresh move to squeeze liquidity to further rein in volatility in forex market, the apex bank last evening announced a slew of steps, including lowering overall limit for borrowing under the daily liquidity adjustment facility.
Concerned that the latest steps to stabilise the rupee could lead the RBI to come out with more such measures and also hike key policy rates triggered a panic sell-off.
Banking stocks witnessed a carnage with the sectoral Bank Nifty crashing by a massive 519.55 points. FMCG, auto, energy, capital goods and metal stocks, too, bore the brunt of the heavy selling.
After a gap-down opening in the backdrop of overnight RBI measures, the key index remained under intense selling pressure throughout the session.
However, some buying support from technology and healthcare stocks cushioned the fall.
Meanwhile, other Asian stocks ended mixed amid concerns over sluggish Chinese manufacturing activity, which fell to an eleven-month low in July.
The 50-share Nifty plummeted by a massive 87.30 points, or 1.44 per cent, to close at 5,990.50. It touched a low of 5,962.60 in early trade.
IDFC was the top loser from the Nifty, falling by more than 9 per cent after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock.
IndusInd Bank, JP Associates, Axis Bank, Kotak Bank, Bank of Baroda, PNB, ICICI Bank, Ambuja Cement and L&T were the other key losers from the index pack.
Notable gainers included Bharti Airtel, Sun Pharma, TCS, Cipla, Bajaj Auto, Asian Paints, Grasim, UltraTech, Infosys and DLF.
Turnover in the cash segment rose to Rs 11,622.62 crore from Rs 9,740.17 crore yesterday. A total of 5,692.08 lakh shares changed hands in 58,95,430 trades. The market capitalisation stood at Rs 63,88,419 crore.
