Sensex Dives Over 1,100 Points On Weak Global Cues, Nifty Below 15,950

Indian equity benchmarks on Thursday plunged sharply in opening deals amid weak cues from the global markets. Asian stocks tracked a steep Wall Street selloff as investors fretted over rising global inflation, China's zero-Covid policy and the Ukraine war.

Trends on the Nifty Futures on Singapore Exchange (SGX Nifty) indicated a gap-down start for the domestic indices.

The 30-share BSE Sensex crashed 1,106 points or 2.04 per cent to 53,103, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 314 points or 1.94 per cent down to trade at 15,926.

The weak broader market trend pulled down the market capitalisation of BSE-listed firms by Rs 5.02 lakh crore to Rs 250.74 lakh crore in early trade.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a weak note as Nifty Midcap 100 fell 2.38 per cent and small-cap slipped 2.80 per cent.

All of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the red. Nifty IT and Nifty Metal were underperforming the index by falling as much as 3.25 per cent and 3.01 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Tech Mahindra was the top loser as the stock cracked 3.72 per cent to Rs 1,128.40. Bajaj Finserv, Infosys and Wipro were also among the laggards.

The overall market breadth stood negative as 459 shares were advancing while 2,147 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, TechM, Bajaj Finserv, Infosys, Wipro, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, SBI, TCS, HCL Tech, Axis Bank, IndusInd Bank and Asian Paints were among the top losers.

Meanwhile, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) were down 1.44 per cent at Rs 863.65 against its previous close of Rs 876.25. LIC had made a tepid debut at the stock exchanges on Tuesday, listing at a discount of 8.62 per cent.

In contrast, ITC was trading in the green.

Sensex had slipped 110 points or 0.20 per cent to close at 54,209 on Wednesday, while Nifty had moved 19 points or 0.12 per cent down to settle at 16,240.