Stock Market: Sensex Plunges 760 Points, Nifty Trades At 16,270 Tracking Weak Global Cues

Stock update: Wipro was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.38 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Infosys, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC twins, and TCS on the BSE

Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Friday plunged sharply amid inflation fears and weak global cues. Besides, a weaker rupee also weighed on the domestic equity markets, traders said.

At 10.15 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 760 points to 54,559, while the broader NSE Nifty was trading at 16,270, down 207 points.

On the BSE platform, Wipro was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.38 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Infosys, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC twins, and TCS.

On the flipside, PowerGrid, NTPC, and Titan were the gainers.

In the broader markets, the BSE Midcap and Smallcap indices were also in the negative territory, down up to 0.9 per cent.

Sectorwise, all indices suffered losses. Nifty Metals and IT slumped the most, down up to 1.7 per cent. Nifty Banks, Financials, Pharma, and PSBs were the other notable drags.

In the previous session on Thursday, the Sensex surged 427 points (0.78 per cent) to close at 55,320, while the NSE Nifty advanced 121 points (0.74 per cent) to finish at 16,478.

The rupee depreciated 8 paise to a record low of 77.82 against the US dollar in opening trade.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Seoul were trading with deep losses in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the green.

Stock exchanges in the US ended sharply lower in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.65 per cent to $122.27 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,512.64 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.

The country's current account deficit is likely to hit a three-year high of 1.8 per cent or $43.81 billion in FY22, as against a surplus of 0.9 per cent or $23.91 billion in FY21, according to an India Ratings report.

According to rating agency Icra, operating profit margins of information technology companies can moderate by up to 1.50 per cent in the near term as wage cost inflation coming on the back of high attrition hits players in the over $200 billion industry.