Sensex plunges 700 points, gives up 49,000 mark

Mumbai, Jan 15 (IANS) The Indian equity indices witnessed a slump on Friday afternoon with the BSE Sensex losing over 700 points. Sensex is trading below the psychological level of 49,000 points. The decline on the Indian indices came due to profit booking by traders after the recent bull run, analysts said. Heavy selling pressure was witnessed in banking, IT and auto stocks. At 2.19 p.m. Sensex was trading at 48,882.40, lower by 701.76 points or 1.42 per cent from its previous close of 49,584.16. The Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange was trading at 14,390.15, lower by 205.45 points or 1.41 per cent from its previous close. Tech Mahindra, ONGC and HCL Technologies were the major losers, while Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Auto and ITC were the only gainers on the Sensex.
--IANS rrb/sn/rs/