Sensex Drops 645 Points on Global Sell-Off, US Bond Yields Rise

Mumbai, May 22 (PTI) Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled nearly 1 per cent on Thursday mirroring weak trends in global equities due to rising bond yields and US debt concerns.

The 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 644.64 points or 0.79 per cent to settle at 80,951.99. During the day, it dropped 1,106.71 points or 1.35 per cent to a low of 80,489.92.

The NSE Nifty tumbled 203.75 points or 0.82 per cent to 24,609.70.

From the Sensex firms, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Tech Mahindra, Power Grid, ITC, Hindustan Unilever, Reliance Industries and Maruti were the biggest laggards.

IndusInd Bank, Bharti Airtel and UltraTech Cement were the gainers.

"The key benchmark indices witnessed declines amid US fiscal concerns that the proposed budget bill could significantly increase the national debt, pushing US treasury yields higher due to tepid long-term bond demand. Adding to the pressure, a major credit rating agency's downgrade of the US credit outlook sparked broad-based selloffs across Asian markets," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Investments Limited, said.

In Asian markets, South Korea's Kospi, Japan's Nikkei 225 index, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and Hong Kong's Hang Seng settled lower. Markets in Europe were trading in the negative territory.

US markets ended sharply lower on Wednesday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude declined 1.37 per cent to USD 64.02 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) turned buyers on Wednesday after a day's breather. They bought equities worth Rs 2,201.79 crore, according to exchange data.

The BSE benchmark jumped 410.19 points or 0.51 per cent to settle at 81,596.63 on Wednesday. The Nifty climbed 129.55 points or 0.52 per cent to 24,813.45.