Sensex shrugs off positive GDP numbers, sinks 137 points

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by over 137 points on Thursday to close at 34,046.94 as global sell-off triggered by US Fed rate hike fears rode roughshod over the positive economic growth data for the third quarter.

Banking stocks, particularly state-run were among the biggest laggards on unabated nervous off-loading by participants amid growing concerns over a spate of fraud cases.

Select auto stocks, however, were in some demand on the back of encouraging February sales numbers.

The 30-share benchmark, after scaling a high of 34,278.63 in early deals, slipped into the negative zone to touch 34,015.79, before settling at 34,046.94, down 137.10 points, or 0.40 per cent.

The 50-issue NSE Nifty too lost 34.50 points, or 0.33 at 10,458.35 after shuttling between 10,525.50 and 10,447.15. For the week, the flagship Sensex recorded a fall of 95.21 points, or 0.27 per cent, while the NSE Nifty lost 32.70 points, or 0.31 per cent.

Showing signs of recovery, the Indian economy recorded a five-quarter high growth of 7.2 per cent in the October-December quarter on good showing by key sectors like agriculture, construction and manufacturing, data released after markets hours on Wednesday showed.