Sensex Falls Over 350 Points On Weak Global Cues, Nifty Trades Below 17,150

The Indian equity benchmarks traded lower in opening deals on Thursday, taking cues from the global markets. Asian shares fell as investors weighed the latest developments in the Ukraine war and more hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve officials. Rising crude oil prices -- above $122 a barrel -- also kept investors on edge.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow planned to switch gas sales made to "unfriendly" countries to roubles, causing European gas prices to soar on concerns the move would exacerbate the region's energy crunch.

U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers signalled more aggressive action to bring down unacceptably high inflation.

Back home, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 360 points or 0.65 per cent to 57,325, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 107 points or 0.62 per cent down to 17,139 in early trade.

Mid- and small-cap shares were trading on a positive note as Nifty Midcap 100 index jumped 0.54 per cent and small-cap shares rose 0.18 per cent.

Seven out of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- were trading in the red. Nifty Bank and Nifty Financial Services were underperforming the index by falling as much as 1.30 per cent and 1.18 per cent, respectively. However, Nifty Metal and Nifty IT jumped 1.19 per cent and 0.45 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, Kotak Mahindra Bank was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 3.42 per cent to Rs 1,709.20. Titan, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Bajaj Finance were also among the laggards.

However, the overall market breadth stood strong as 1,541 shares were advancing while 1,084 were declining on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Kotak Bank, Titan, ICICI Bank, HDFC twins (HDFC and HDFC Bank), Bajaj Finance and IndusInd Bank were among the top losers.

In contrast, Dr Reddy's, ITC, TCS, Tata Steel and UltraTech Cement were trading in the green.

Sensex had slipped 304 points or 0.53 per cent to close at 57,685 on Wednesday, while Nifty had moved 70 points or 0.40 per cent lower to settle at 17,246.