Equities tanked massively on Monday amid profit-booking in expectations of volatility on derivatives expiry while banks came under selling pressure ahead of RBI's credit policy as the market benchmark Sensex logged biggest single-day fall in five weeks to slip below 25,000-mark.
The 50-share Nifty also cracked below the 7,700-mark with a plunge of over 101 points. After four straight session of gains and a long break, the trading opened with a gap-up note amid higher Asian cues. Absence of definite cues as most European markets remained closed for an extended Easter Holiday against the background of some members of the US Federal Reserve taking a hawkish tone, affected sentiment.
“On a surprising note the market is underperforming in spite of a strong case for rate cut which should have provided support on the downside,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit BNP Paribas. Buyers looked hesitant, given the long list of event risks lined up in the next fortnight, added Geojit BNP Paribas’s Anand James. The 30-share Sensex opened higher at 25,417.11 and hovered between 25,432.94 and 24,895.49 before ending at 24,966.40, showing a fall of 371.16 points or 1.46 per cent.
The index gained 660.19 points in the previous four sessions. Exchanges had remained closed on Thursday and Friday for 'Holi' and 'Good Friday', respectively.
The unveiling of the much-awaited Defence Procurement Policy by Union Minister Manohar Parrikar was sidelined as across-the-board profit-booking was witnessed led by metals, healthcare, realty, consumer durables, telecom, capital goods and industrials sectors.