Declining for the fifth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex on Friday (October 25, 2024) plunged about 660 points to crash below the 80,000 level owing to widespread selling pressure tracking massive foreign capital outflows and muted earnings growth.

The BSE Sensex plummeted 662.87 points or 0.83% to settle at 79,402.29. During the day, it plunged 927.18 points or 1.15% to 79,137.98. The NSE Nifty tanked 218.60 points or 0.90% to 24,180.80.

From the 30 Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank plunged more than 18.50% after the firm reported a 40% decline in September quarter net profit at ₹1,331 crore, pulled down by concerns over its asset quality.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finance and Titan were also among the laggards.

From the bluechip pack, ITC climbed more than 2% after the diversified entity reported an 1.8% increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹5,054.43 crore in the second quarter ended September 2024.

In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were the other big gainers. “Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth ₹5,062.45 crore on Thursday (October 25, 2024), while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought ₹3,620.47 crore shares,” according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher, while Tokyo ended lower. European equity markets were trading in positive territory. The U.S. markets ended mostly higher on Thursday (October 24, 2024.) Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42% to $74.69 a barrel.

In an uninspiring trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex dipped 16.82 points or 0.02% to settle at 80,065.16 on Thursday. The Nifty skidded 36.10 points or 0.15% to 24,399.40 in a volatile trade.