Stocks tumble to 5 month low as trade war fears escalates; log 4th weekly loss

The Sensex, Nifty dived more than 1% on Friday, in line with global markets as heated rhetoric between the US and China over import tariffs.

Mumbai: The BSE Sensex plunged by about 410 points to close at a five-month low while the broader Nifty crashed below the 10,000 mark for the first time this year following a global sell-off due to fears of a trade war as the US President Donald Trump announced tariffs on Chinese goods.

The 30-share Sensex tumbled by 409.73 points or 1.24 percent to close at five-month low of 32,596.54, a level last seen on October 23 last year, when it had closed at 32,506.72.

The 50-issue Nifty ended below the psychological 10,000-level by dropping 116.70 points or 1.15 percent to 9,998.05, the lowest closing level in five months. The level was last seen on October 11 last year, when it had closed at 9,984.80.

Realty, metal, bankex, capital goods, healthcare, PSU, auto and oil & gas stocks recorded widespread losses.

Metal stocks led by SAIL, Vedanta, Hindalco Ind, National Aluminium, Hindustan Zinc, Tata Steel and NMDC fell up to 6.58 percent due to intense selling pressure.

For the fourth straight week, the flagship Sensex recorded a fall of 579.46 points, or 1.75 percent, while the NSE Nifty lost 197.10 points, or 1.93 percent.

Investor sentiment turned extremely bearish, in line with sharp losses on the Wall Street, Asian and European markets, on growing fears of a global trade war after Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing drawing up a list of retaliatory measures, brokers said.

(With agency inputs)