Sensex slips nearly 1,200 pts to tumble below 80k; Nifty drops 360 pts as heavyweights drag

Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty surrendered early gains to plunge nearly 1.50% on Thursday, weighed down by intense selling in market heavyweights Infosys, RIL and HDFC Bank amid a mixed trend in global equities.

The BSE benchmark Sensex slumped 1,190.34 points or 1.48% to settle at 79,043.74. During the day, it tanked 1,315.16 points or 1.63% to 78,918.92.

The NSE Nifty tumbled 360.75 points or 1.49% to 23,914.15.

From the 30-share Sensex pack, Mahindra & Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Adani Ports, Bajaj Finance, Tech Mahindra, Titan, Tata Consultancy Services, Reliance Industries and Power Grid were among the laggards.

On the other hand, State Bank of India was the only gainer.

In Asian markets, Seoul and Tokyo settled in the green, while Shanghai and Hong Kong ended lower.

European markets were trading higher. The US markets ended lower on Wednesday. The decline in tech companies dragged major American indices lower.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) bought equities worth ₹7.78 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude climbed 0.49% to $73.18 a barrel.

On Wednesday, the BSE benchmark climbed 230.02 points or 0.29% to settle at 80,234.08. The Nifty rose 80.40 points or 0.33% to 24,274.90.