Declining for the fifth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex on Friday plunged about 660 points to crash below the 80,000 level due to widespread selling pressure tracking massive foreign capital outflows and muted earnings growth.

The BSE Sensex plummeted 662.87 points or 0.83 per cent to settle at 79,402.29. During the day, it plunged 927.18 points or 1.15 per cent to 79,137.98.

The NSE Nifty tanked 218.60 points or 0.90 per cent to 24,180.80.

From the 30 Sensex pack, IndusInd Bank plunged over 18.50 per cent after the firm reported a 40 per cent decline in September quarter net profit at Rs 1,331 crore, pulled down by concerns over its asset quality.

Mahindra & Mahindra, Larsen & Toubro, NTPC, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Maruti, Bajaj Finance and Titan were also among the laggards.

From the blue-chip pack, ITC climbed over 2 per cent after the diversified entity reported an 1.8 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to Rs 5,054.43 crore in the second quarter ended September 2024.

In contrast, Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Sun Pharma and ICICI Bank were the other big gainers.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 5,062.45 crore on Thursday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought Rs 3,620.47 crore shares, according to exchange data.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled higher, while Tokyo ended lower.

European equity markets were trading in positive territory. The US markets ended mostly higher on Thursday.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.42 per cent to USD 74.69 a barrel.

In an uninspiring trade, the BSE benchmark Sensex dipped 16.82 points or 0.02 per cent to settle at 80,065.16 on Thursday. The Nifty skidded 36.10 points or 0.15 per cent to 24,399.40 in a volatile trade.

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