Sensex and Nifty, the two key equity benchmarks, on Wednesday started on a negative note in early trade amid weak global cues and concerns over further rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve to tame inflation which spooked investor sentiments.
At 10.30 am, after four continuous sessions of gains, the BSE Sensex plunged 530 points (0.88 per cent) to 60,040, while the Nifty dropped 150.75 points (0.83 per cent) to 17,919.
On the 30-share Sensex platform, a total of 12 stocks were trading in the green, rest were all in the red zone.
NTPC was the lead gainer, up 1.73 per cent. The others were PowerGrid, IndusInd, SBI, UltraCemco, M&M, Maruti, ITC. On the flip side, Infosys was the top loser, down 4.23 per cent. The others were TechM, TCS, HCL, Wipro, L&T, Reliance, and others.
In the broader markets, Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 slipped over 1 per cent.
All sectors nosedived in negative territory with Nifty IT, Nifty Realty, and Nifty Metal indices bearing the brunt of the brutal selloff.
V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said the 4.32 per cent and 5.12 per cent cut in S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Tuesday again reminds that there is more uncertainty about inflation and growth and more volatility ahead for markets.
“The worse-than-expected CPI inflation data in the US, despite cooling gas prices, was a surprise. Now the market fears that inflation is getting entrenched and an ultra-hawkish Fed might trigger a hard landing for the US economy,” he said.
In the previous session on Tuesday, the Sensex surged 455 points (0.76 per cent) to close at a five-month high of 60,571, while the broader Nifty climbed 133 points or (0.75 per cent) to settle at 18,070. Previously, the Nifty had closed above the 18,000-mark on April 4 this year.
In the last four sessions, Sensex had gained over 1,540 points (2.59 per cent) and Nifty had risen by 445 points (2.9 per cent).
Like its Indian counterpart, Asian markets were also in the negative zone amid expectations of aggressive rate hikes by the US Fed to tackle inflation which was higher than expected in August. On Tuesday, the US and European markets too closed in the red.
Foreign institutional investors pumped Rs 1,956.98 crore into domestic equities on Tuesday, as per data available with the BSE.
Brent crude futures were marginally higher at $93.32 per barrel.