The benchmark lost 606 points, ending below the 10,000 mark at 9,975, as heavy selling surfaced in late trade. It is the lowest close for the Sensex since July 2006.
The Nifty ended below the 3100 levels at 3074, down 194 points. This is also the lowest close of the broader index since July 2006.
In sharp contrast to today’s close, the Sensex opened firm today on positive cues from the Wall Street. The Sensex rose 205 points at day’s high of 10,786 in early trade. Then it slipped in and out of the red in many occasions as markets saw a very high volatility. But in the late trade it slipped to its day’s low.
The Sensex is down 5.8 per cent for the week while the Nifty has shed 6 per cent.
The global cues were mixed today. Though the European markets were trading higher, futures pointed to a fall in the US markets on Friday. The Asian markets had ended mixed.
Among the Sensex stocks on Friday, Reliance Infrastructure plunged 12 per cent to Rs 490. JP Associates, DLF and NTPC were the other major losers in the group.
“The selling by the FIIs is hugely responsible for this selloff,” said Ajay Bagga, chief executive of Lotus India Asset Management. But he also pointed to some domestic issues and strongly urged the regulator to cut domestic rates.
“Clearly, there are some pointers to a slowdown in the Indian economy. The excise collection for September was down year-on-year and the latest IIP numbers suggest a dismal growth,” Bagga said. “We need to cut rates drastically to speed up growth. And with oil prices falling, the government can also consider cutting oil prices.”
He even suggested the Indian government to buy commercial papers like the US Fed, to ease liquidity pressure on corporates.
The BSE realty index plunged 10 per cent and the metal index lost 6.1 per cent. Orbit Corp and IndiaBulls Real Estate were the biggest losers among the realty stocks, down over 14 per cent each.
The BSE metal index dropped 12 per cent this week while the oil and gas index shed 11.5 per cent during the week.
Among the midcap stocks, S Kumars Nationwide, Provogue India and India Infoline fell 16.8-20 per cent each.
In the small cap space, Ess Dee Aluminium, Austral Coke and ABG Heavy Industries lost more than 19 per cent each.
In the Asian markets, Nikkei ended 2.8 per cent higher while the Kospi and Hang Seng were down over 2.7 per cent each.