Sensex Tumbles 720 Points; Nifty At 24,000

(RTTNews) - Indian shares succumbed to heavy selling pressure on Friday, after having logged strong gains the previous day.

The benchmark S&P/BSE Sensex fell 720.60 points, or 0.90 percent, to 79,223.11, following its best session in six weeks the previous day.

The NSE Nifty index tumbled 183.90 points, or 0.76 percent, to 24,004.75 amid profit taking, tracking a firmer dollar, elevated bond yields and surging oil prices in international markets.

Amid concerns over slowing corporate earnings growth, investors also waited for potential cues from the upcoming Q3 earnings season.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indexes, with the mid-cap and small-cap indexes on the BSE closing down 0.3 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively.

The market breadth was somewhat positive. On the BSE, 2,105 shares rose and 1,876 shares declined while a total of 122 shares were unchanged.

The dollar held steady near two-year highs in European trade and headed for its best week since November after new weekly jobless claims data showed the U.S. labor market remained resilient, reigniting worries about high interest rates.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 has heightened uncertainty, with the prospect of new tariffs and retaliatory trade measures expected to fuel inflation.

Among the prominent decliners, Cipla, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, HDFC Bank and Wipro fell 2-3 percent in the Nifty pack.

Among the top gainers, ONGC rallied more than 5 percent after oil prices surged to their highest level in almost two months on Thursday amid optimism around China's economy and fuel demand following a pledge by President Xi Jinping to promote growth.

Nestle India, Titan Company, SBI Life and Tata Motors rose 1-3 percent.

Avenue Supermarts jumped 11 percent after Q3 revenue surged 17 percent from last year.

Wockhardt surged over 5 percent after receiving approval for Miqnaf (nafithromycin).