MUMBAI: Equity indices suffered heavy losses on Thursday following an opening rally of 1,045.60 points in the Sensex amid a largely bearish trend overseas after the US Federal Reserve hiked rates by 75 basis points.
Sales wreak havoc across the board title indexReliance Industries and HDFC twins are the biggest contributors to the decline, with index majors.
Despite a smart rally in morning trade, BSE Benchmark It failed to sustain gains and settled 1,045.60 points or 1.99 per cent lower at 51,495.79 – its fifth day of decline.
During the day, it fell 1,115.91 points or 2.12 per cent to a one-year low of 51,425.48.
Similarly, the NSE Nifty closed 331.55 points or 2.11 per cent lower at 15,360.60.
From the Sensex pack, Tata Steel, Tech Mahindra, IndusInd Bank, Wipro, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Mahindra Bank and NTPC were the biggest laggards.
Nestle India was the only gainer.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong closed lower, while Tokyo and Seoul gained marginally.
European markets were trading sharply lower in mid-session deals.
Stock exchanges in the US ended the overnight session with sharp gains on Wednesday despite the Fed raising rates.
“Early gains led by an in-line Fed policy were eroded as fears of a recession weighed on global sentiments,” said Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.66 per cent to $117.68 a barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market as they sold shares worth Rs 3,531.15 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.