Sensex tanks 500 points, Nifty slips below 9,200; private banks drag

MUMBAI: The S&P benchmark BSE Sensex tanked nearly 500 points, while Nifty slipped below 9,200-mark as the Indian equity markets opened on Friday. Indian equity markets tracked weak global cues and slipped over one per cent, dragged by private banks and financials.

Among individual stocks, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance (both down 4%) were the top laggards while HDFC twins were also down 2 per cent each.

At the index level, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 505 points, or 1.6 per cent, at 31,360 levels and the Nifty50 hovered around 9,200. 

All the Nifty sectoral indices were in the red, led by Nifty Private Bank and Nifty Financial indexes, both down 3 per cent each.

Equity benchmarks marched higher for the second day on Thursday, helped by IT and banking stocks, as hopes of another stimulus package from the government bolstered investor sentiment amid the coronavirus overhang.

The 30-share BSE Sensex surged 483.53 points or 1.54 per cent to close at 31,863.08, a six-week high.

The broader NSE Nifty advanced 126.60 points, or 1.38 per cent, to settle at 9,313.90.