Markets snap five-day rally; Sensex tumbles over 850 points

New Delhi, Aug 2 (PTI) Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty halted their five-day rally to close with deep cuts on Friday in line with a global sell-off as investors dialled back risk exposure in metal, auto and IT stocks after weak US job data.

Amid widespread selling pressure, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 885.60 points or 1.08 per cent to close at 80,981.95. During the day, it nosedived 998.64 points or 1.21 per cent to hit an intra-day low of 80,868.91.

The broader Nifty of NSE slipped 293.20 points or 1.17 per cent to end at 24,717.70. It fell 324.05 points or 1.29 per cent to 24,686.85 during the session.

From the Sensex stocks, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Motors, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Tata Steel, Mahindra and Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies and Infosys were the laggards.

HDFC Bank, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Nestle India and Asian Paints were among the gainers.

The European markets were quoting lower in mid-session deals on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.77 per cent to USD 80.13 a barrel.

In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul ended lower on Thursday.

The US stock market also finished in the negative territory on Thursday.

Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,089.28 crore in the capital markets on Thursday.

The 30-share Sensex climbed 126.21 points to close at a new lifetime high of 81,867.55, while NSE Nifty rose 59.75 points to settle at an all-time closing peak of 25,010.90.