(Representative image)

NEW DELHI: Equity indices finished the week on a lower note with the benchmark BSE sensex plunging more than 550 points as auto and financial stocks witnessed heavy losses. Unabated foreign fund outflows and disappointing quarterly earnings also dented market sentiment, traders said.

Sensex crashed 560 points or 1.44 per cent to end at 38,337 on Friday; while the broader NSE Nifty moved 178 points or 1.53 per cent lower to settle at 11,419.

Major laggards on the BSE index include Mahindra and Mahindra, Bajaj Finance, IndusInd Bank, Yes Bank, Hero MotorCorp, and Tata Motors with their stocks down as much as 4.42 per cent. 26 out of 30 stocks on the BSE index closed in red.

On the NSE index, all the sub-indices witnessed losses with Nifty Auto and Media sliding the most, down as much as 3.31 per cent.

"Foreign funds are on a risk-off mode, while domestic mutual funds are providing marginal support in the market," Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services told news agency PTI.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 1,404.86 crore, while domestic institutional investors purchased shares to the tune of Rs 329.05 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed on Thursday.

The shares of Yes Bank extended losses for a third straight day after posting disappointing quarterly results.

The first set of corporate results failed to impress investors. IT heavyweight Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which kicked off the results season last week, reported lower margins and flagged stress in global capital markets.

(With agency inputs)

