The S&P BSE Sensex index plunged as much as 604.26 points to hit 51,740.19 in the first few minutes of trade, and the broader NSE Nifty50 benchmark slumped to as low as 15,505.65, down 177.7 points from its previous close.
JSW Steel was the top laggard among blue-chip stocks, trading 2.93 per cent lower in early deals.
, Hindalco, ultraTech, SBI, IndusInd Bank and UPL were among other losers.
On the other hand, NTPC was the top performer among the four percentage gainers in the Nifty50 pack, up 1.98 per cent. Adani Ports, HUL and HDFC Life were other stocks that rose.
Equities in other Asian markets tumbled, tracking Friday’s losses on Wall Street, as investors digested Federal Reserve messaging on more restrictive monetary policy. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up by 1.03 per cent. Japan’s Nikkei plunged 3.33 per cent, South Korea’s Kospi 0.86 per cent, Australia’s ASX 200 1.86 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite 0.28 per cent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng 1.32 per cent.
On Friday, Wall Street ended sharply lower, with the Dow and S&P500 index posting their worst weekly performances in months. The Dow Jones industrial average tanked 1.58 per cent. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices shed 1.31 per cent ant 0.92 per cent, respectively.
Oil prices nudged up, underpinned by strong demand during the summer driving season and a pause in talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal that could indicate a delay in resumption of supplies from the OPEC producer. Brent crude futures for August gained 0.4 per cent to $73.81 a barrel.
Analysts awaited more quarterly earnings from India Inc for cues.
Info Edge (India), Oil India, Bharat Dynamics, TCNS Clothing,
,VST Tillers Tractors, MM Holdings, Pokarna, , SP Apparels, , Pearl Global Industries and Rana Sugars are among the companies that will announce their March quarter results later in the day.
THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY. MORE TO COME…
