Mumbai, Jan 21 (Inditop.com) Traders stepped on the selling pedal at Indian equities markets Thursday amid blue-chip scrip L&T announcing disappointing results, leading to a key index falling 423 points.
The 30-scrip sensitive index (Sensex) of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), which opened at 17,474.49 points, closed at 17,051.14 points, down 423.35 points or 2.42 percent from its previous close.
Shares of L&T fell 6.85 percent to Rs.1,524.35, pulling the Sensex down, after it reported a 50 percent drop in net profits at Rs.758.8 crore for the quarter ended Dec 31, compared to Rs.1,520.4 crore posted in the same quarter last fiscal.
At the National Stock Exchange (NSE), the broader 50-share S&P CNX Nifty ended at 5,088.7 points, against the previous close at 5,221.7 points, a loss of 2.55 percent or 133 points.
Broader markets were also swept by the selling spree, with the BSE midcap index ending 2.39 percent down and the BSE small cap index falling 2.47 percent.
The market breadth was negative, with 557 stocks advancing, compared to 2,357 on the decline and 48 remaining unchanged.
There were no gainers on the Sensex, with only M&M managing to end flat.
Top losers included L&T, down 6.85 percent at Rs.1,524.35; Tata Power, down 4.46 percent at Rs.1,357.30; BHEL, down 4.12 percent at Rs.2,279.40; and Sterlite Industries, down 3.78 percent at Rs.821.30.
Most other Asian markets were among gains, with the benchmark Japanese index Nikkei ending 1.22 percent higher at 10,868.41 points, and the Korean Kospi closing at 1,722.01, up 0.45 percent.
The Chinese Shanghai composite index too was up 0.22 percent at 3,158.86 points, though the Hang Seng of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange shut shop 1.99 percent lower at 20,862.67 points.
European markets, which opened higher, had settled down and were trading lacklustre.
The FTSE 100 index, the benchmark index of the London Stock Exchange, was ruling 0.17 percent lower at 5,411.37 points, while the French index, CAC 40, was up 0.26 percent at 3,939.26 points.
Its German peer, the DAX, was ruling 0.22 percent higher at 5,864.28 points.
