Sensex, Nifty tumble over 1 per cent due to selling in Reliance, bank stocks

Mumbai, February 28

Benchmark Sensex tanked more than 1 per cent while Nifty declined below the 22,000 level on Wednesday pulled down by selling in heavyweight Reliance Industries and bank stocks amid weak global market trends.

The 30-share BSE Sensex fell by 790.34 points or 1.08 per cent to settle at 72,304.88. During the day, it tanked 872.93 points or 1.19 per cent to a low of 72,222.29.

The Nifty slumped 247.20 points or 1.11 per cent to settle at 21,951.15.

Among the Sensex firms, Power Grid, IndusInd Bank, Maruti, Wipro, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries and UltraTech Cement were the biggest laggards.

Hindustan Unilever, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services and Bharti Airtel were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul settled with gains while Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower. European markets were trading mostly lower. The US markets ended mostly higher on Tuesday.

The BSE benchmark climbed 305.09 points or 0.42 per cent to settle at 73,095.22 on Tuesday. The Nifty ended 76.30 points or 0.34 per cent up at 22,198.35.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 0.90 per cent to USD 82.90 a barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,509.16 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.