Sensex, Nifty plunges over 1% as IT, financial shares drop

Mumbai: Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined by more than 1 per cent in opening trade on Friday due to heavy selling in financials, IT and capital goods stocks amid weak global trends.

The 30-share BSE barometer plunged 730.17 points or 1.22 per cent to 59,076.11 as 25 of its constituents traded in the red. The index opened lower and fell to a low of 59,062.72 in early trade.

The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange tanked 201.05 points or 1.14 per cent to 17,388.55 in opening trade. As many as 45 of Nifty shares traded in the red with Adani Enterprises, HDFC twins and IndusInd Bank emerging as the biggest losers.

Heavy selling in financials, banking, IT and capital goods shares triggered by weak Asian markets and overnight losses in the US market dragged down the benchmark indices, analysts said.

"The sell-off in US markets was triggered by a crash of 60 per cent in SVB Financials - a bank that mainly funds start ups. This impacted sentiments and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.

HDFC fell the most by 2.53 per cent among Sensex shares. IndusInd Bank, HDFC Bank, L&T, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Infosys, TCS and Ultratech Cement were among major losers.

Tata Motors bucked the trend gaining 0.75 per cent. Bharti Airtel and Maruti also advanced.

In Asia, markets in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul declined following losses in US shares. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped by 2.45 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi by 1.21 per cent, Shanghai by 1.15 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei by 1.36 per cent.

In the US, the S&P 500 tumbled 1.8 per cent, The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.7 per cent and the Nasdaq composite fell 2.1 per cent as investors remain anxious about the prospect of more aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation with higher interest rates.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 541.81 points or 0.90 per cent lower at 59,806.28, while the broader NSE Nifty declined 164.80 points or 0.93 per cent to 17,589.60.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 561.78 crore, according to exchange data.