Benchmark indices fell over 2 per cent today with Sensex falling over 1,200 points and Nifty trading below 17,400. The Sensex was down 1,221.49 points or 2.05 per cent to trade at 58,414. The Nifty was down by over 350 points or 2.02 per cent to trade below 17,400.

The 30-scrip Sensitive Index opened on a negative note during the morning trade session. It opened at 59,710 points from the previous close of 59,636 points. Till now it touched a high of 59,778 and a low of 58,351. 

On the other hand, the broader 50-scrip Nifty opened at 17,796 points after closing at 17,764 on Thursday. It touched a high of 17,805 and a low of 17,386.

“High growth expectations have been built into the stock market valuations for quite some time now. And if these expectations don’t materialise soon enough, we may see further downward pressure on prices. From a valuations perspective, the broader market is already quite expensive. The only thing holding it up was hopes of a quick recovery in corporate earnings. Any delay there or any bad news on that front and there could be more downside in the offing,” Rahul Shah, co-head of Research at Equitymaster, said.

Elsewhere in Asia, stocks were mixed after ending the week mostly lower on Wall Street, despite the Nasdaq’s first close above 16,000. The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.6% to 3,582.77 while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong lost 0.6% to 24,888.11. Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 recovered from earlier losses, edging 0.1% higher to 29,774.11. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 500 gave up 0.6% to 7,353.10.

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