Stock Market: Sensex Dives Over 450 Points, Nifty Trades Below 17,700 On Weak Global Cues. IT Index Down

Stock update: On the 30-share Sensex platform, barring Sun Pharma and Maruti, the rest 27 scrips were trading in the red

The two key equity benchmarks, Sensex and Nifty, on Wednesday began trade on a weak note and dived lower tracking weak global cues.

At 10.10 am, the S&P BSE Sensex plunged 453 points to 60,220. On the other hand, the NSE Nifty50 was trading at 17,687, down 139 points.

On the 30-share Sensex platform, barring Sun Pharma and Maruti, the rest 27 scrips were trading in the red.

Among individual stocks, shares of Mirza International surged over 4 per cent after NCLT approved to merge RTS Fashions with the company. Besides, shares of ITI soared over 6 per cent after Rajesh Rai was appointed as the chairman and managing director of the company.

In the broader markets, Nifty MidCap 100 and Nifty SmallCap 100 indices slumped up to 0.3 per cent.

Volatility index, India VIX, meanwhile, climbed over 3 per cent.

Barring Nifty Pharma index, which held marginal gains in a weak market, all other sectors plunged in the sea of red. Nifty IT index was the worst hit as it declined up to 0.9 per cent.

In the previous session on Tuesday, the S&P BSE Sensex ended at 60,673, down 19 points (0.03 per cent). On the other hand, the Nifty50 ended at 17,827, down 18 points (0.1 per cent).

In Asian markets, South Korea, Japan, China and Hong Kong were trading lower. The US markets had ended significantly lower on Tuesday.

"US stocks tumbled led by growing concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer," said Mitul Shah, Head of Research – Institutional Desk, Reliance Securities Ltd.

Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated 4 paise to 82.83 against the US dollar in early trade on Wednesday, weighed down by a muted trend in domestic equities. However, fresh foreign fund inflows and a weak American currency against major rivals overseas capped the losses in the domestic unit, forex traders said.

At the interbank foreign exchange, the domestic unit opened flat at 82.79 against the dollar. Later, it lost some ground to quote at 82.83, registering a decline of 4 paise over its last close. In the previous session on Tuesday, the rupee settled at 82.79 against the dollar.

Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, rose slightly by 0.06 per cent to $83.10 per barrel.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net buyers in the capital markets on Tuesday as they bought shares worth Rs 525.80 crore, according to exchange data.