Sensex plunges 551 points on sluggish global trends

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty fell nearly 1 per cent on Wednesday due to a sharp jump in global crude oil prices and sluggish global market trends.

Selling pressure in banking, financial services and energy stocks also pulled the benchmarks lower, traders said.

After a day's breather, the 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 551.07 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 65,877.02.

During the day, it fell 585.99 points or 0.88 per cent to 65,842.10.

The Nifty declined 140.40 points or 0.71 per cent to 19,671.10.

Among the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance fell by nearly 3 per cent, the most among the 30 frontline companies. Bajaj Finserv, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Reliance Industries, NTPC, ICICI Bank and IndusInd Bank were the other major laggards.

In contrast, Tata Motors, Sun Pharma, Maruti and Mahindra & Mahindra were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Shanghai and Hong Kong ended in negative territory while Seoul and Tokyo settled in the green.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 3.36 per cent to $92.92 a barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth Rs 263.68 crore on Tuesday, according to exchange data.