Bloodbath in market amid fears of HMPV

At close, the Sensex was down 1,258.12 pts and Nifty was down 388.70 pts

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

The stock market on Monday witnessed a bloodbath as the benchmark indices shed 1.5 per cent amid fears about Human Metapneumovirus (HMPV).

At close, the Sensex was down 1,258.12 points or 1.59 per cent at 77,964.99, and the Nifty was down 388.70 points or 1.62 per cent at 23,616.05.

The market started the day on a positive note, and witnessed profit-booking in the initial hours to erase all the gains.

With the progress of the day, indices extended the losses with Nifty falling below 23,600, while the Sensex also tumbled 1.59 per cent to 77,964 level. Selling was seen across the sectors with PSU Bank index down nearly 4 per cent after their quarterly business performance.

A sharp fall in index heavyweights such as Tata Steel, Reliance Industries, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ITC, Tata Motors, among others dragged the markets lower.