Sensex tanks for eighth straight day

The Nifty of National Stock Exchange (NSE) too declined by 83.45 points to 10,840.95.

Investors were assessing the central government's response to the deadly attack on the paramilitary forces in Pulwama in Kashmir last week.

The Sensex went up by 23 points to 35,831.18 in the morning trade and gained further by 104 points to touch day's high of 35,912.44 in during the day, but then dropped sharply by 338 points to hit day's low of 35,470.76 in intra day. It finally closed negative at 35,498.44, sliding by 310.51 points as compared to its previous close.

The Nifty registered day's high and low at 10,759.90 and 10,628.40 points, respectively.

The selling in sectoral indices like Energy, FMCG, IT, Technology, Power and Metal put pressure on the market for another day today, along with scrips of TCS, Yes Bank, Reliance Industries, ITC and Sun Pharma.

While, buying in ONGC, Tata Motors, Axis Bank and Tata Motors DVR capped the equity market's further slide, brokers informed.

The broader markets also ended in red, as the BSE Mid-Cap index and Small-Cap lost 1.04 per cent and 1.01 pc, respectively.

The market breadth was weaker on BSE, as 882 shares advanced compared with 1,671 declined and 181 were unchanged.

Overseas, European shares were trading mixed as investors continued to monitor trade talks between the world's two largest economies.

The Asian stocks closed higher on Monday, as trade talks between the United States and China are set to continue in Washington this week following conclusion of the high-level meetings in Beijing on Friday last.

The US stock indices surged on Friday buoyed by growing optimism that the US and China can strike a trade truce ahead of the March 1 deadline.

The US stock markets would be closed on Monday in observance of the Presidents' Day holida