Sensex, Nifty Enter Correction Zone After 10% Drop From Peak: Market Wrap

Indian equity benchmarks ended lower in trade on Friday after a volatile session following weak Asia and U.S. trade that was sparked by a sell-off in banks and a rally in information technology services stocks.

The headline indices fell for the third consecutive week, declining less than 1% in trade.

The benchmarks are down nearly 10% from their all-time highs touched in December of last year, suggesting the market is a correction zone.

A stock market correction describes a specific fall in of at least 10% (but less than 20%) from a recent stock market high. A bear market is usually defined as a decline of 20% or greater.

The S&P BSE Sensex was 9.10% lower, while the NSE Nifty 50 was 9.93% down from its previous high.

European and Asian markets fell whereas U.S. equity futures erased gains. Financials were among the worst performing sectors on MSCI Inc.'s Asia-wide index.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen clarified to U.S. lawmakers that the government would be prepared for further steps to protect deposits if needed. It came two days after she said the government was not considering a blanket deposit insurance to stabilise the banking system—comments that triggered a sell-off

The Sensex closed 398 points down, or 0.69%, at 57,527.10, while the Nifty was lower by 132 points, or 0.77%, at 16,945.05.