BSE Sensex and Nifty fell over 1 per cent in noon trade, with selling pressure seen in most of the sectors.
This is a big turnaround from their early rise when BSE Sensex gained over 250 points, boosted by the passage of the insurance Bill and better-than-expected industrial output data.
At 11:40 a.m., the Sensex was down nearly 300 points at 28,648 while Nifty fell 82.65 points to move below 8700.
TS Harihar, Chief Executive and Founder of HRBV Client Solutions Private, said speculations of an earlier-than-expected rate hike from US Federal Reserve are weighing on the markets. Unless the Fed clarifies its stance on rate hikes, Nifty could not see a meaningful breakout on the upside, he added.
The Fed's next meet is scheduled for March 17-18.
Selling pressure was broad-based with sharp selloff seen particularly in banking and capital goods stocks.
Among major Nifty losers, JSPL, Bajaj Auto, Axis Bank were down over 2 per cent while L&T, Wipro and HCL Tech fell over 1.5 per cent.
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