New Delhi: Benchmark equity indices Sensex and Nifty tumbled in early trade on Friday as investors rushed to book profits after record-breaking rallies in the past few sessions as well as tracking cues from global sell-offs.
Massive selling in bellwether stocks like Reliance and ICICI Bank also dragged the investors' sentiment.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Motors, Maruti Suzuki India, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Larsen & Toubro, Adani Ports, Tech Mahindra, NTPC, and Tech Mahindra were the laggards.
"The rally in India has been sustained more by money flows into the market than by fundamentals. Without fundamental support the rally cannot sustain. It remains to be seen whether the buy on dips strategy will work this time too. Since valuations are high some profit booking, particularly in mid and small caps, can be considered," said V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Financial Services.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.78 per cent to USD 80.14 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors bought equities worth Rs 2,089.28 crore in the capital markets on Thursday.
A monthly survey released on Thursday showed India's manufacturing sector growth eased slightly in July, on softer increases in new orders and output, while cost pressures and demand strength led to the steepest increase in selling prices since October 2013.
The government's GST collections in July rose 10.3 per cent to over Rs 1.82 lakh crore, mainly driven by domestic transactions in goods and services, according to official data released on Thursday.
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