Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday plunged sharply for a second session in the afternoon trade as investors remain nervous ahead of the Union Budget 2023.


At 1.15 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex slumped over 1,000 points to 59,194. On the other hand, NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,561, down 331 points.


On the 30-share Sensex platform, ICICI Bank, SBI, Axis Bank, Asian Paints, IndusInd Bank, HDFC twins, Reliance declined sharply and were trading in the red. On the flip side, only four stocks were trading in the positive territory – Tata Motors, ITC, Sun Pharma, and Tata Steel.


Among individual stocks, Tata Motors surged 7 per cent as the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 3,043 crore in Q3FY23, after clocking losses for seven straight quarters.


Adani Group stocks continued to be in a free fall as the spat between Gautam Adani-led group companies and US activist investor Hindenburg Research took legal turn.


Adani group stocks continued to remain under pressure on Friday, falling up to 20 per cent in morning trade, after the US-based investment research firm Hindenburg Research made damaging allegations.


Shares of Adani Total Gas plummeted 19.65 per cent, Adani Transmission tumbled 19 per cent, Adani Green Energy plunged 15.50 per cent and Adani Enterprises tanked 6.19 per cent on the BSE. Also, Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone fell 5.31 per cent, Adani Wilmar dipped 5 per cent and Adani Power declined 4.99 per cent.


In the broader markets, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices lost 0.6 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively.


Sectorally, auto, FMCG, and pharma indices were the only pockets resisting the market crash, while holding tepid gains. Oil & gas pocket shed the most with a fall of 5 per cent.


In the previous session on Wednesday, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 774 points (1.3 per cent) to close at 60,205 after it recovered from its intra-day low of 60,081. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty lost 226 points to close at 17,892.


Stock markets remained closed on Thursday (January 26) on account of Republic Day.