Stock market slides in early trade; Sensex slumps over 675 points

Mumbai: Equity benchmark indices plummeted in early trade on Wednesday and Sensex slumped more than 675 points tracking negative cues in the global market as higher than expected inflation numbers in the US hit investor sentiments.

The broader 50-share Nifty tumbled 187.85 points or 0.86 per cent to 21,555.40 points while the 30-share Sensex crashed 675.79 points or 0.94 per cent to 70,879.40 points.

The latest inflation data from the US has upended expectations of when the Federal Reserve might start slashing interest rates.

As many as 27 scrips in the Sensex index declined. Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, HDFC Bank and TCS were among the major losers in the early trade.

In the Nifty pack, 44 stocks were in the red.

"January's hotter-than-expected US inflation report threw the financial market into a tailspin on Tuesday and upended investors' expectations about how soon and by how much the Federal Reserve might start cutting interest rates," Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities, said.

In the US, the consumer price index rose 0.3 per cent in January and the core rate -- which excludes volatile food and energy costs -- rose 0.4 per cent, a tick above Wall Street expectations.

Asian markets witnessed mixed trends on Wednesday, with Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng indices trading lower while China's SSE Composite Index gained over 1 per cent.

On Tuesday, US and European stocks closed in the red.

"Asian stocks tracked a drop on Wall Street following hotter-than-expected US inflation data, while a slump in the yen past 150 per dollar triggered a warning from Japan," Jasani said.

BSE Sensex surged 482.70 points to close at 71,555.19 points on Tuesday while the broader NSE Nifty gained 127.20 points to end the day at 21,743.25 points.

Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) were net buyers on Tuesday as they purchased shares worth Rs 376.32 crore, according to data available with BSE.