Sensex tanks by more than 600 points; IndusInd Bank declines by over 5 per cent

Bearish behaviour dominated the domestic markets on Tuesday as Sensex tanked by 660.63 points or 1.80 per cent to settle at 36,033.06 while Nifty fell by 195.35 points or 1.81 per cent to close at 10,607.35.

Casual dining chain Barbeque Nation Hospitality has been granted SEBI's approval to raise around Rs 1,000-1,200 crore through an initial public offering. The IPO includes a fresh issue of shares worth Rs 275 crore and an offer-for-sale of up to 98,22,947 equity shares.

A sell-off on Wall Street and escalating tensions between US and China led to a slip in global indices as well. In the Asian markets, Shanghai index, Hang Seng, Nikkei and KOSPI decreased by 0.83 per cent, 1.14 per cent, 0.87 per cent and 0.11 per cent respectively. In the European markets, indices such as FTSE 100, DAX and CAC 40 were trading in the negative territory, down by 0.27 per cent, 1.39 per cent and 1.61 per cent respectively.

As companies continue to release their earnings for Q4FY20 and Q1FY21, investors in domestic as well as global markets remain cautious and pessimistic as the quarters were majorly affected by the lockdowns implemented due to COVID-19. In general, sentiments have turned sour after rising Coronavirus cases forced many cities in India to go under lockdown again, thus hurting businesses and derailing ongoing projects.

In the Sensex basket, 27 stocks declined while only three stocks advanced. Sensex winners comprised Titan Company increasing by 0.93 per cent, Bharti Airtel gaining by 0.40 per cent and Bajaj Auto rising by 0.02 per cent. Sensex losers included IndusInd Bank dropping by 5.33 per cent, Axis Bank decreasing by 5.08 per cent, Maruti Suzuki declining by 3.69 per cent, Power Grid falling by 3.46 per cent, Bajaj Finserv dipping by 3.43 per cent, SBI down by 3.37 per cent, HDFC down by 2.94 per cent, etc.

Amongst BSE sectoral indices, the biggest loser was Bankex, down by 3.06 per cent while Telecom index was the biggest gainer, up by 0.07 per cent. BSE small-cap index fell by 0.93 per cent while BSE mid-cap index declined by 0.95 per cent.