Sensex, Nifty tumble; ONGC jumps more than 8 per cent, BHEL gains 7 per cent, Ashok Leyland declines

On Thursday, Sensex declined by 379.14 points or by 0.73 per cent to close at 51,324.69 levels while Nifty fell by 0.59 per cent or 89.95 per cent to settle at 15,118.95 levels.  

The domestic markets declined for the third consecutive session as investors turned bearish amid selling pressure. 

In the global markets, Asian indices such as Shanghai Composite index rose by 0.55 per cent while Hang Seng, Nikkei and KOSPI fell by 1.58 per cent, 0.19 per cent, and 1.50 per cent, respectively. In the European markets, FTSE 100 and CAC 40 were trading in red, down by 0.57 per cent and 0.14 per cent, respectively whereas, DAX traded flat. 

Sensex gainers included ONGC that surged 8.32 per cent, NTPC inched higher by 4.08 per cent, Asian Paints gained 3.39 per cent, Tech Mahindra zoomed by 2.97 per cent, Power Grid climbed 2.85 per cent, IndusInd Bank went up by 1.34 per cent, Infosys rose 0.81 per cent, etc. 

Sensex losers consisted of Bajaj Finance that plunged 2.43 per cent, Kotak Mahindra Bank fell by 2.20 per cent, Mahindra & Mahindra slumped 2.19 per cent, Nestle India went down by 2.18 per cent, HDFC declined by 2.13 per cent, etc. 

Amongst sectoral indices on BSE, the oil & gas index was the biggest gainer, up by 4.22 per cent while the auto index was the biggest loser, declining by 1.35 per cent. BSE Utilities index gained 3.87 per cent, followed by BSE Power index that rose 2.79 per cent. On the other hand, Bankex fell by 1.17 per cent.  

In the broader markets, BSE Mid-Cap index outperformed, gaining by 0.69 per cent while BSE Small-Cap index surged 0.67 per cent.