Reliance Industries, HDFC, Bajaj Finance pull down Sensex 503 pts

Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 503 points on Monday, weighed by losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC and Bajaj Finance amid a mixed trend in global markets.

The 30-share index slumped 503.25 points or 0.86% to settle at 58,283.42. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell 143.05 points or 0.82% to 17,368.25.

Bajaj Finance was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3%, followed by Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, M&M, Nestle India and SBI.

On the other hand, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid and Maruti were among the gainers.

The sharp rise in Omicron cases in the UK is a concern for global markets, said V K Vijayakumar, Chief investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

Meetings of the US Fed, ECB, Bank of England and Bank of Japan this week will give cues on the medium term trajectory of interest rates, bond yields and markets, he noted.

In India, the relentless selling by FPIs (Rs 33,799 crore in November and Rs 17,644 crore up to December 10) has been the major headwind for the market, particularly for banking stocks, he added.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Seoul and Hong Kong ended with gains, while Shanghai and Tokyo were in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were trading on a positive note in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.11 per cent to USD 75.23 per barrel.