Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty today logged their biggest single-day drop in four months pulled down by a sharp 8 per cent plunge in shares of Infosys and the expiry of monthly derivative contracts.
The S&P BSE Sensex tumbled nearly 322 points to finish at almost two-week low of 24,234.15 while the Nifty slipped 94 points to end at 7,235.65.
IT giant Infosys slumped 7.81 per cent to end below the crucial Rs 3,000 mark for the first time since mid-September 2013 after the resignation of President B G Srinivas, who was considered a top contender for the CEO post.
The stock also turned ex-dividend today for final dividend of Rs 43 per share for the year ended March 31. Infosys, the top loser in 30-share Sensex, alone contributed more than 135 points to the barometer's fall.
Besides, RIL, HDFC Bank, L&T, ONGC, ICICI Bank, HDFC, Tata Motors, Wipro, BHEL, Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Cipla also closed with marked losses.
Selling was so strong that 11 out of 12 sectoral indices closed in the red with IT, Teck, Oil&Gas, CG, Realty and power segments taking the lead in the downfall while only Healthcare index barely finished in positive terrain.
Jignesh Chaudhary, Head of Research, Veracity Broking Services said, "Indian equities declined as the in last three days FIIs are the net sellers of over Rs 550 crore, which has forced the market to trade weak".
The Sensex resumed lower at 24,523.13 points and hovered in a range of 24,528.20 and 24,206.50, before settling at 24,234.15, a fall of 321.94 points or 1.31 per cent. This is its biggest fall since 426.11-point crash on January 27. This closing level is its lowest since 24,298.02 on May 21.
The NSE 50-share Nifty dipped 94 points, or 1.28 per centm to end at 7,235.65. This is biggest drop since January 27 when it slid 130.90 points.
Asian stocks ended mixed today as investors weighed a worse-than-estimated drop in Japan's retail sales before a report on the US economy, say analysts.
