Sensex tanks 196 points, Nifty slids below 8,000 on profit selling

The Sensex drifted further from early losses by 196.26 points, while the broader Nifty slid below the crucial 8,000-level in late morning deals in a flurry of stocks sale on Thursday.

The across-the-spectrum selling was witnessed in metal,financials, banks, capital goods, power, telecom, consumer durables, IT and teck sectors amid weak Asian stocks. Heavy FII outflows ahead of key US and ECB economic data later on Thursday, coupled with mute sentiment ahead of holidays, bumped the trading momentum.

The Sensex was trading at 26,046.12 at 1050 hours, a loss of 196.26 points, or 0.75 per cent. The NSE 50-share Nifty also dropped by 62.35 points, or0.77 per cent, to go below the key 8,000-level at 7,998.95 1050 hours.

Major losers were Tata Steel 2.37 per cent, Adani Ports1.94 per cent, SBIN 1.90 per cent, Axis Bank 1.59 per cent and Bharti Airtel 1.54 per cent. Foreign funds sold shares worth Rs 1,178.08 crore on Wednesday, as per provisional data. Overseas, Asian markets suffered modest losses after an overnight lacklustre performance on Wall Street, with investors looking at US economic data later in the day for potential catalysts even as markets started winding down aheadof the holidays. US stocks closed modestly lower yesterday as the market traded in a relatively tight range amid thinning volumes ahead off the December holidays. PTI PAKJM12221152