Sensex Plunges 357 Points In Early Trade, Nifty Trades At 17,712 On Weak Global Sentiments

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were in the positive territory, up to 0.5 per cent higher

New Delhi: The key domestic equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Thursday started trade in the negative zone amid weak global sentiment.

At 10 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 357 points to 59,253, while the broader NSE Nifty was at 17,712, down 95 points.

HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank) were the top losers as the stocks cracked 2 per cent and 1.52 per cent, respectively. While Maruti, Titan, Wipro, Reliance, TCS, Kotak Bank, and Infosys were the other Sensex losers, down up to 2 per cent. ONGC, UPL were the additional top losers on the Nifty.

On the flip side, Dr Reddy's, Asian Paints, Sun Pharma, Tata Steel, Cipla and Divis Labs, HUL, NTPC, and Ultratech Cement were the top gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were in the positive territory, up to 0.5 per cent higher. 

Eight out of the 15 sector gauges, compiled by NSE, were trading in the red. Nifty Financial Services, Nifty Auto, and Nifty IT were underperforming the index by falling as much as 0.71 per cent and 0.79 per cent, respectively. Nifty Realty, Pharma and FMCG pack were firmly higher.

On Wednesday, the BSE tanked 566 points to 59,610 points, while the Nifty declined 149 points to 17,807 points.

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo were trading lower in mid-session deals. Stocks in the US also ended lower in the overnight session.

"Recent market weakness is partly due to the increasingly hawkish commentary from the US Fed," V K Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services, told the PTI.

International oil benchmark Brent crude jumped 1.71 per cent to $102.80 per barrel.

"Nasdaq closed 2.22 per cent lower yesterday after minutes from the US Fed's March meeting showed that central bank will move aggressively to head off inflation. European indices also closed in the red yesterday. All the major Asian markets are trading in negative territory in the early Thursday trade," according to Mohit Nigam, Head - PMS at Hem Securities.

According to exchange data, foreign institutional investors offloaded shares worth Rs 2,279.97 crore on Wednesday.