Sensex tumbles 427 pts; Nifty retains 17,600

Mumbai: Extending its losses for the fourth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex slumped 427 points on Friday, tracking weakness in Bajaj Finserv, L&T and Infosys amid a widespread sell-off in global markets.

Relentless foreign fund outflows further weighed on the bourses, traders said.

The 30-share BSE index ended 427.44 points or 0.72 per cent lower at 59,037.18. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 139.85 points or 0.79 per cent to 17,617.15.

Fag-end buying in some select blue-chip counters helped the bourses limit the losses.

Bajaj Finserv was the top laggard in the Sensex pack, shedding 5.37 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Bharti Airtel, L&T, IndusInd Bank, Bajaj Finance and Infosys.

On the other hand, HUL, Maruti, HDFC twins, and TCS were among the gainers, rising up to 2.68 per cent.

In other Asian markets, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo closed in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were trading with deep losses in mid-session deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude tumbled 1.92 per cent to USD 86.68 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 4,679.84 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.