Sharp selloff hits Indian stock market, investors lose Rs 8 lakh crore

Mumbai, July 19 (IANS) The Indian equity market witnessed a sharp selloff on Friday, following weak global cues and profit booking on higher levels. At closing, Sensex was down 738 points or 0.91 per cent, at 80,604 and Nifty ended at 24,530, down 269 points or 1.09 per cent. Nifty Bank closed at 52,265, down 355 points or 0.67 per cent. Due to the fall in the market, the market cap of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) declined to Rs 446.3 lakh crore at the end of trading, against Rs 454.3 lakh crore at the end of the previous trading session. Sharp selling pressure was also seen in midcap and smallcap stocks. The Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 1,202 points or 2.11 per cent to 55,908 and the Nifty Smallcap 100 index fell 431 points or 2.29 per cent to 18,397. As many as 26 out of 30 Sensex stocks closed in the red. Tata Steel, JSW Steel, NTPC, Tata Motors, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Power Grid, Mahindra & Mahindra, Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank were the top losers. Infosys, ITC, Asian Paints, and HCL Tech were the top gainers. Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said: "Bank Nifty closed at its day’s low, forming a bearish candlestick on the daily chart. The active call writing and put covering suggest weaker sentiment. Traders should maintain a sell-on-rise strategy, with resistance at 52,500. Bullish positions are recommended only if the index closes above 52,500. Further weakness is expected if it closes below its 21-day EMA at 52,000." --IANS avs/vd

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