Sensex plunges over 900 points, Nifty settles at 11643.80; ITC, Tata Motors, HDFC top losers

Infra, metals and PSU bank index ended with losses of 3-4 percent, while ITC, Tata Motors, HDFC, and Larsen & Toubro were among the top losers.

Mumbai: Sensex on Saturday (February 1) ended down 987.96 points or 2.43 percent at 39735.53, and the broader also nosedived 318.30 points or 2.66 percent at 11643.80, as the Union Budget 2020-21 failed to bring cheers to the market. About 616 shares advanced, 1689 shares declined, while 120 shares remained unchanged.

Infra, metals and PSU bank index ended with loses of 3-4 percent, while ITC, Tata Motors, HDFC, and Larsen & Toubro were among the top losers. The most active stocks of the day were State Bank of India, Reliance Industries, IRCTC, Larsen & Toubro and Maruti Suzuki. 

Around 1.30 p.m, the Sensex touched an intra-day low of 40,015.37, 708.12 points lower than the previous close of 40,723.49 points.

It, however, recovered from the low and at 1.39 pm, it traded at 40,188.53, lower by 534.96 points or 1.31 per cent from the previous close of 40,723.49

The Nifty 50 on the National Stock Exchange was also trading at 11,799.85, lower by 162.25 points, or 1.36 per cent from the previous close.

During early hours on Saturday, equity benchmark indices were largely flat as investors awaited presentation of the Union Budget 2020 in Parliament by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The decision for stock exchanges to open on Saturday was made after traders requested to keep trading hours so that quick buys based on Budget initiatives can be made. The Economic Survey has projected the GDP growth rate of 6 to 6.5 per cent during fiscal 2020-21.

At 10 am, the BSE S&P Sensex was up by 24 points to 40,747 while the Nifty 50 was unmoved at 11,963. Sectoral indices at the National Stock Exchange were mixed. Among stocks, Power Grid Corporation was down by 3.4 per cent at Rs 180.50 per share. 

Tech Mahindra, power utility major NTPC, Tata Steel and Coal India were among prominent losers. However, FMCG major Hindustan Lever, GAIL, Bajaj Finserv, Bharat Petroleum Corporation, and IndianOil Corporation showed marginal gains.

Notably, Asian share markets were closed for the weekend.