Markets crash amid global rout; Sensex dives 867 points

Equity benchmarks nosedived on Friday, with the Sensex crashing 866.65 points to close below the 55,000-mark amid a sell-off in global markets.Unabated foreign fund outflows and firm crude oil prices also weighed on sentiment.The 30-share BSE Sensex dived 866.65 points or 1.56 per cent to finish at 54,835.58. During the day, it tanked 1,115.48 points or 2 per cent to 54,586.75.Similarly, the NSE Nifty tumbled 271.40 points or 1.63 per cent to settle at 16,411.25.From the Sensex pack, Bajaj Finance, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Nestle, Wipro, HDFC, Infosys, HDFC Bank and UltraTech Cement were the major laggards.In contrast, Tech Mahindra, PowerGrid, ITC, SBI and NTPC were among the gainers.Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Korea settled significantly lower, while Tokyo ended higher.Exchanges in Europe were trading in the negative zone in the afternoon session.Stock exchanges in the US had fallen sharply in overnight trade on Thursday.”US markets witnessed a relief rally on Wednesday after FOMC meeting but it tumbled on Thursday due to more anxiety over rising interest rates,” said Mohit Nigam, Head – PMS, Hem Securities.The Bank of England raised its key interest rate to the highest level in 13 years on Thursday.”A steep crash in the US stocks as the market evaluated the need for a higher rate hike to tame elevated inflation levels wounded global markets with heavy selling. The Bank of England while raising its interest rates, warned about a possible risk of recession, aggravating investor fears,” said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services.Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 2.20 per cent to USD 113.3 per barrel.Foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth a net ₹2,074.74 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.