Vishal Sikka's surprise resignation as Infosys CEO today threw markets off-track as the Sensex careened off 271 points while the Nifty managed to end above 9,800.
The fast-paced developments at India's second-largest IT firm were the talking point throughout as the stock took a severe beating dragging down the markets. It ended up as the biggest loser on the 30-share Sensex map -- sinking as much as 9.60 per cent to Rs 923.10, the lowest since May 2, 2017. Intra-day, it had even hit a 52-week low, but then recovered somewhat.
The company's market valuation slumped Rs 22,518.98 crore to Rs 2,12,033.02 crore.
Moreover, a deadly attack in Spain and growing concerns over the direction of US President Donald Trump's economic agenda cast a long shadow, analysts said.
After three straight sessions of gains, the Sensex opened lower and dropped further before ending down 270.78 points, or 0.85 per cent, at 31,524.68. It had rallied 581.87 points in the previous three sessions.
Weighed down by the IT index, the 50-share Nifty too closed lower 66.75 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 9,837.40. During the session, it shuttled between 9,783.65 and 9,865.95.
For the week, both Sensex and Nifty recorded gains of 311.09 points, or 0.99 per cent, and 126.60 points, or 1.30 per cent, respectively. This is markets' sixth weekly rise in seven.
"Markets slid due to the unprecedented exit of Infosys CEO, which put investors and stakeholders in doldrums. On the global front, investors were jittery on account of a terrorist attack in Europe, which also dampened sentiment," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd.
Persistent capital outflows by foreign institutional investors, who have been selling for the past six straight days, and the end of the quarterly earnings season amid absence of any positive trigger hastened the downfall.
The broader markets too cracked, with BSE small- and mid-cap indices ending in the red.
Other scrips that contributed to the overall slide were Sun Pharma, NTPC, HDFC and Coal India which fell by up to 3.81 per cent.
Buying in Hindustan Unilever, PowerGrid, TCS, Bharti Airtel, ITC, RIL and M&M arrested the fall.
The BSE IT index burnt its fingers as the worst performer, down 3.53 per cent. The weakness in technology, healthcare and realty indices only made things worse.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) remained net sellers offloading shares worth Rs 981.05 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares worth Rs 828.59 crore yesterday, showed provisional data.
Other Asian markets finished lower. European stocks also moved down in their early session.
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