Indian Markets: Sensex Drops 248 Points To End At 40,239; Nifty Closes Below 11,900

Benchmark indices spiralled lower on Tuesday, dragged by widespread selling in bank, energy and IT stocks, as investors booked profit at higher levels amid lacklustre macro and global cues. Participants were eager to take money off the table amid lack of positive news on the growth front, while global cues were weak due to the US-China tensions, traders said.

The benchmark S&P BSE Sensex ended at 40,239.88 level, down 247.55 points or 0.61 per cent. On the NSE, the Nifty50 closed below the 11,900-mark at 11,856.80 level, down 81 points, or 0.68 per cent.

In the intra-day trade, the Sensex declined 380 points from day's high to hit a low of 40,208.70. YES Bank, down 10 per cent, was the top loser while Bajaj Finance, up over 1 per cent, was the top performer. The S&P BSE mid-cap index closed 1.1 per cent lower at 14,519.78 level, while the S&P BSE small-cap index ended at 13,145.27 level, down 1 per cent.

All the BSE sectoral indices finished in the red. BSE Utilities took the biggest hit with 2.16 per cent fall, followed by power (1.83 per cent), oil & gas (1.73 per cent), metal (1.38 per cent), basic materials (1.27 per cent), IT (1.18 per cent), Teck (1.12 per cent), FMCG (1.11 per cent) and energy (1.02 per cent). BSE Auto declined 0.79 per cent after industry data showed that domestic passenger vehicle sales slipped into the negative territory once again in November due to muted demand conditions.

According to data released by the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), passenger vehicle (PV) sales declined 0.84 per cent to 2,63,773 units in November from 2,66,000 units in the year-ago period.

Meanwhile, the rupee appreciated by 11 paise to trade at 70.93 against the US dollar (intra-day). Brent futures, the global oil benchmark, slipped 0.33 per cent to USD 64.04 per barrel.

Global equities extended their slide for the second straight day as US-China trade tensions kept sentiment subdued. In Asia, Hong Kong dropped 0.2 per cent and Tokyo ended 0.1 per cent lower. Singapore and Jakarta also closed in the red. However, Shanghai gained 0.1 per cent. London's FTSE 100, Paris' CAC 40 and Frankfurt's DAX were trading lower in opening deals.

(With PTI Inputs)