Sensex plunges 634 points; Nifty cracks below 11,350

Domestic equity benchmark Sensex crashed 634 points on Friday, tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC and Infosys, amid a sell-off in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index ended 633.76 points or 1.63 per cent lower at 38,357.18. The NSE Nifty plunged 193.60 points or 1.68 per cent to close at 11,333.85.

Axis Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 4 per cent, followed by Tata Steel, SBI, NTPC, Bharti Airtel, ITC and ICICI Bank. On the other hand, Maruti finished with gains.

According to traders, domestic markets followed the massive sell-off in global equities.

Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended with heavy losses in the overnight session led by a carnage in technology stocks.

Following suit, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul ended up to 1.25 per cent lower.

On the other hand, stock exchanges in Europe opened on a positive note.

Through the week, the market remained cautious on weaker-than-expected GDP numbers and lacklustre GST collections, even though PMI and auto sales showed some improvement, said Sanjeev Zarbade, VP PCG Research, Kotak Securities.

Indo-China border tensions, rising cases of infections, global market correction and valuations are the key risks to the domestic market, he added.

In the forex market, the rupee appreciated 33 paise to close at 73.14 against the US dollar.

Meanwhile, the global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.91 per cent higher at $44.47 per barrel.