Selling in IT stocks drags down Nifty50 from near 20,000 level

The 50-share NSE index settled below 234 points, or 1.17%, at 19,745 on Friday

- ARSHAD KHAN

THE stage was set for the NSE Nifty50 to hit the 20,000 milestone on Friday but the two benchmarks- Nifty and Sensex- plummeted by more than 1% and broke a 6-day winning streak. Owing to an 8% slump in Infosys and massive selling across the IT pack, Sensex plunged over 1,000 points intraday to slip below the 67,000 mark while the Nifty50 closed below the 19,750 level.

The 30-share index closed the Friday session with a loss of 888 points, or 1.31%, at 66,684.26 while the broader Nifty50 settled below 234 points, or 1.17%, at 19,745. Owing to a sharp selloff across the spectrum, investors lost nearly Rs 2 lakh crore as the overall market capitalisation of firms listed on BSE came down to about ₹302.1 lakh crore on Friday from nearly ₹304 lakh crore on Thursday.

Nifty50, at a high of 19,992 on Thursday, was expected to breach the 20,000 mark on Friday but a sharp cut in FY25 growth guidance by Infosys along with overnight selling in the tech-heavy NASDAQ (United States) proved to be too much for the bulls to continue the rally.