Equity benchmarks opened on a lower note on Thursday in line with an extremely weak trend in the global markets. The 30-share BSE benchmark crashed 1,154.78 points lower at 53,053.75 while the broader NSE Nifty tumbled 335.65 points to 15,904.65.
In the afternoon session, the markets extended loss with Sensex falling more than 1,500 points or over 3% to trade below 52,700 and Nifty slipping below 15,800 after crashing more than 450 points.
All the sectoral indices are trading in the red with metal and IT stocks facing the heat.
ITC was the top gainer with the stock hitting the 52-week high of 297.25 on the NSE and 279.15 n the BSE on account of the Q4 result. The company on Wednesday reported an 11.60 per cent rise in its consolidated net profit to Rs 4,259.68 crore for the fourth quarter ended in March 2022.
Notably, stock exchanges in the US had ended significantly lower on Wednesday. Asian markets in Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo were also trading lower. Persistent foreign fund outflows and a spurt in crude oil prices also dampened sentiment in the domestic market.
From the Sensex firms, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Steel, HCL Technologies, Bajaj Finance and State Bank of India were the major laggards in early trade. ITC emerged as the only gainer from the 30-share pack.
Brent crude jumps 1.61%
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude gained 1.61 per cent to USD 110.87 per barrel.
Earlier on Wednesday, equity benchmarks surrendered early gains to close with modest losses, snapping their two-day winning streak. Sensex soared in opening trade before succumbing to bouts of volatility in the afternoon session. It finally settled 109.94 points or 0.20 per cent lower at 54,208.53. On similar lines, Nifty dipped 19 points or 0.12 per cent to finish at 16,240.30.
The rupee on Wednesday too declined by 16 paise to close at its fresh lifetime low of 77.60 against the US dollar amid unabated foreign fund outflows and a stronger greenback in overseas markets.
In another related development, S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday cut India's growth projection for the current fiscal to 7.3 per cent from 7.8 per cent earlier on rising inflation and the longer-than-expected Russia-Ukraine conflict.
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