Stock Market: Sensex Slides 575 Points, Nifty Trades Below 18,250 Tracking Weak Global Cues

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, only Axis Bank was the sole gainer, up 0.24 per cent

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices fell up to 0.2 per cent.

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Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Tuesday opened lower tracking weak global cues.

At 9.50 am, the S&P BSE Sensex declined 575 points to 61,231, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 18,245, down 175 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, only Axis Bank was the sole gainer, up 0.24 per cent. On the other hand, TechM was the prime loser, followed by HCL Tech, PowerGrid, L&T, Asian Paint, HUL, and others.

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices fell up to 0.2 per cent.

Volatility gauge, India VIX, meanwhile, climbed over 1 per cent.

All sectors drowned in the sea of red, with Nifty IT and Nifty PSU Bank indices declining the most, up to 0.6 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of NBCC India gained over 2 per cent after it bagged orders worth Rs 69.3 crore from Odisha Power Transmission Corporation.  Besides, shares of IRB Infra rose over 1 per cent after the board called meeting on January 4 to mull proposal for a stock split.

In the previous session on Monday, the BSE Sensex ended near the day's high at 61,806, up 468 points (0.76 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 closed at 18,420, up 151 points (0.8 per cent).

Meanwhile the rupee weakened by 11 paise to 82.73 against the US dollar in early trade on Tuesday as a sell-off in domestic equities and rising crude prices in global markets weighed on the local unit. However, a weak greenback against major rivals overseas supported the domestic currency and restricted the fall, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the local currency opened weak at 82.69 against the dollar, then lost ground further to 82.73, registering a decline of 11 paise over its previous close. The rupee settled 13 paise higher at 82.62 against the dollar in the previous session on Monday.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.89 per cent to $80.51 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors were net sellers in the capital market on Monday as they sold shares worth Rs 538.10 crore, as per exchange data.