New Delhi: Sensex and Nifty, key equity benchmarks, on Monday started trade in the negative zone anticipating aggressive monetary policy by US Federal Reserve and weak global cues.
The ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, global inflation woes, and the sharp monetary policy response by central banks have impacted investors’ sentiment.
At 10 am, the 30-share BSE Sensex was down 605 points to 56,592, while the NSE Nifty was trading at 16,971, down 200 points.
On the BSE, ICICI Bank, Maruti, M&M, and Axis Bank were the only gainers, while the rest 26 indices were trading in the red, with Tata Steel being the worst performer, down 3.94 per cent.
The broader markets, BSE Midcap and BSE Smallcap, also opened in the red. The indices declined up to 1.2 per cent.
On the NSE, Nifty IT, FMCG, Realty, and Metals dipped up to 2 per cent, while the Nifty Auto held ground and was largely flat.
Stocks across the board declined on Monday on the Nifty 50 index, with 49 of the 50 stocks were trading lower.
In the previous session on Friday, Sensex plunged 714 points (1.23 per cent) to end at 57,197, while the Nifty declined 220 points (1.27 per cent) to 17,171.
In the Asian markets -- Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Shanghai -- were down and were trading with deep cuts in their mid-session deals.
On Friday, the stocks in the US had also ended sharply lower.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.88 per cent to $103.58 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) continued their selling spree, offloading shares worth Rs 2,461.72 crore on Friday, according to stock exchange data.
"US markets fell by more than 2 per cent on Friday while European markets also fell on Friday. Asian markets are trading in the red in Monday's trade," Mohit Nigam, head - PMS, Hem Securities, told the PTI.