Opening Bell: Sensex Tanks Over 500 Points In Early Trade, Nifty Close To 17,046

Titan was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by M&M, HUL, Maruti, Asian Paints, and IndusInd Bank

New Delhi: Sensex, the key Indian equity benchmark, plunged over 500 points in early trade on Friday, tracking losses in index majors Reliance Industries, HDFC twins, and Kotak Bank amid a negative trend in global markets and persistent foreign fund outflow.

At 10.20 am, the 30-share index declined 583 points (1.01 per cent) to 57,318 in the opening trade. Similarly, the Nifty dropped 200 points to 17,046.

Titan was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding over 3 per cent, followed by M&M, HUL, Maruti, Asian Paints, and IndusInd Bank. On the other hand, Infosys, TCS, HCL Tech, and Tech Mahindra were among the gainers.

In the previous session, the 30-share equity benchmark advanced 113.11 points or 0.20 per cent to settle at 57,901.14, and Nifty rose 27 points or 0.16 per cent to 17,248.40.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,468.71 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.
There are three major headwinds to the market now - the fast spreading Omicron variant, relentless selling by FIIs and hawkish central banks, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services.

“The countervailing tailwinds are the bullish DIIs and retail investors and the smart rebound in growth and corporate earnings. With the Bank of England becoming the first major central bank to hike rates on Thursday, after the hawkish Fed stance, there is an increasing realisation that inflation is turning more durable than thought earlier,” he said.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Seoul were trading with losses in mid-session deals.
Stock exchanges on Wall Street ended on a negative note in the overnight session.

On the other hand, the shares of RateGain Travel and Technologies debuted on a weak note on the bourses. Against the issue price of Rs 425, the shares listed at Rs 364.8 on the BSE, a 14 per cent discount. On the NSE, the shares debuted at Rs 360, down 15.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.79 per cent to $74.43 per barrel.