New Delhi: The Indian equity benchmarks started in the red on Thursday on the back of selling in IT stocks.
The BSE Sensex plunged over 400 points, tracking losses in index-majors Infosys, HCL Tech, and Reliance Industries amid persistent foreign fund outflows and a mixed trend in Asian peers.
The BSE gauge was trading 400 points lower at 59,682 in early trade. Likewise, the Nifty slipped 109 points to 17,828.
Infosys was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 1.13 per cent, followed by Asian Paints, HCL Tech, Reliance Industries, Wipro, HDFC, and TCS.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, UltraTech Cement, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finserv, Titan, and Axis Bank were among the laggards.
Midcap and smallcap shares were mixed as Nifty Midcap 100 index fell 0.18 per cent and smallcap shares were trading 0.23 per cent higher.
In the previous session, the 30-share BSE Sensex ended 656.04 points or 1.08 per cent lower at 61,308.91. The NSE barometer Nifty plunged 174.65 points or 0.96 per cent to close at 17,938.40.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with gains in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the red.
Asian shares edged higher, shrugging off drops in Europe and on Wall Street overnight as China underscored its diverging monetary and economic picture by cutting benchmark mortgage rates.
Stock exchanges in the US ended on a negative note in the overnight session.
Meanwhile, the international oil benchmark Brent crude slipped 0.26 per cent to $88.21 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 2,704.77 crore on Wednesday, according to stock exchange data.
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