Closing Bell: Sensex crashes over 630 points, Nifty50 slips below important support level

Closing Bell: Indian stock markets ended their two-day gaining streak on Wednesday. Benchmark indices S&P BSE Sensex closed at 60,657.45, down 637 points or 1.04 per cent while broader market NSE Nifty50 settled at 18,042.95, down 189 points or 1.04 per cent. Banking gauge Nifty Bank finished at 42,958.80, down 388.50 points or 0.89 per cent.

While Sensex fell nearly 700 points in the intraday trade, Nifty breached the first support zone of 18,100-18,150.    

India VIX, a measure of volatility in Nifty was at 15.20, up 5.64 per cent from Tuesday closing.

In the 50-stock Nifty50, 7 advanced against 43 declines. The top gainers were Divi's Laboratories, Marui Suzuki, HDFC Life, Eicher Motors and Dr Reddy's Laboratories while the top losers were Hindalco Industries, ONGC, JSW Steel, Coal India and Tata Steel.

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All 15 sectoral indices ended in the red with Nifty, Metal, Nifty Realty, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Oil & Gas as worst performers. They were up between 1.5-2.11 per cent. 

Selling pressure was seen even in the broader markets. Nifty Mid Cap 100 fell by 357.25 points or 1.12 per cent at 31,503.10. In the 100-stock index, 11 advanced, 86 declined while 3 remained unchanged. The top gainers were Abbott India, Hindustan Petroleum and Dr Lal Pathlabs while top losers were AB Capital, Yes Bank and SAIL. 

The 100 stock Nifty Small Cap 100 ended at 9,731.90, down 93.45 points or 0.95 per cent. 16 stocks advanced while 84 gained. The top gainers wereCarborundum Univesal, GNFC and IRB while top losers were Balrampur Chini, Indiabulls Housing Finance and RBL Bank.

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Out of 3,627 stocks that traded on BSE, 1,228 advanced, 2,266 declined while 133 remained unchanged. 93 stocks hit their 52-week highs while 27 stocks hit their 52-week highs. 

Radiant Cash Management Services shares listed at a premium of 7 per cent on the NSE. The stock ended at Rs 106.50, up by Rs12.50 or 13.30 per cent.

MCX Gold futures breached Rs 56,000 mark for the first time in 30 months. February gold futures were trading at Rs 55620 at the time of filing this story and were up by Rs 371 or 0.67 per cent from the Tuesday closing price. March Silver futures were trading at 70524, up by Rs 607 or 0.87 per cent.