The benchmark Sensex in India fell 482 points on Monday, dragged down by heavy selling pressure in IT, energy, and banking and financial stocks.
The 30-stock S&P BSE Sensex fell 482.61 points, or 0.81 percent, to 58,964.57 points after closing at 59,447.18 points the previous session.
Earlier, the Sensex opened the day in the red at 59,333.18 points and fell to an intra-day low of 58,894.40 points.
On Friday, the Sensex rose 412.23 points, or 0.70 percent, after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept key policy rates unchanged in its first monetary policy review of the fiscal year.
The broader Nifty 50 of the National Stock Exchange fell 109.40 points, or 0.62 percent, to 17,674.95 points after closing at 17,784.35 points the previous session. On Friday, the Nifty gained 144.80 points, or 0.82 percent.
IT stocks were under intense selling pressure. HCL Technologies’ share price fell 2.73 percent to Rs 1133.80. Infosys’ share price fell 2.67 percent to Rs 1766.65. Wipro’s share price fell 2.16 percent to Rs 571.20.
Banking and financial stocks were also heavily sold. HDFC’s share price fell 1.39 percent to Rs 2423.85. HDFC Bank’s share price fell 1.25 percent to Rs 1496.20. Axis Bank’s share price fell 1.20 percent to Rs 785.40. ICICI Bank, on the other hand, rose 0.71 percent to Rs 759.70.
Reliance Industries, the index’s heavyweight, closed 0.27 percent lower at Rs 2609.80. L&T’s share price fell 2.72 percent to Rs 1780.60.
Only seven of the 30 scrips that comprise the Sensex closed in the black. Among the major Sensex gainers were ICICI Bank, NTPC, Tata Consultancy Services, Ultra Tech Cement, and Nestle India.
