Sensex ends 329 points lower, Nifty below 7,400 ahead of GDP data; IT stocks drag

The S&P BSE Sensex ended sharply lower by 329 points on Friday, while broader CNX Nifty closed below its key 7,400-mark.

The benchmark indices crashed at the fag end of the session after staying rangebound through the day ahead of the GDP data for December quarter, which is due later in the day. Analysts believe a consecutive six-day long fall in European markets affected market sentiment in the afternoon trade.

The 30-share index ended the day at 24,287, down 329.55 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 7,387, down 101.85 points at close.

Market breadth turned negative with 22 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in red.

S&P BSE IT index was the top sectoral loser and lost 1.98 per cent with TCS and Infosys figuring in among top 5 Sensex losers. Tata Motors was the worst-performing stock on both the headline indices. The scrip shed 3.94 per cent on BSE.

Steel stocks hogged limelight and rallied up to 13 per cent intraday after the government set a minimum import price (MIP) of $341 to $752 per tonne for 173 steel products in a bid to protect domestic steel industry from cheaper foreign imports.

Among Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei ended over 1 per cent higher, while trade remained thin in Asia with Singapore, Hong Kong and mainland China closed for the Lunar New Year holiday. Markets in China will be closed for the entire week for the holiday.

US Dow futures fell sharply and lost over 1.5 per cent, indicating Wall Street may carry on with heavy losses seen at the end of last week.