Investors were seen booking profits after a strong four-day rally in which both the benchmarks- Sensex and Nifty climbed more than 4% each.
The Indian equity benchmarks extended losses after staging a gap down opening on Thursday on weak global cues ahead of weekly expiry of index futures and option contracts due later in the day. Infosys, Reliance Industries, HDFC twins, ICICI Bank, Tata Consultancy Services and Kotak Mahindra Bank were among the top drags on the Sensex, data from BSE showed.
As of 9:40 am, the Sensex tumbled 718 points at 59,505 and Nifty 50 index dropped 235 points to 17,690.
Overnight, US stocks slid and Treasury yields jumped on Wednesday after meeting minutes released by the Federal Reserve indicated that it might not only raise interest rates sooner than expected but could also reduce its overall asset holdings to tame high inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 392.54 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 36,407.11; the S&P 500 lost 92.96 points, or 1.94 per cent, to 4,700.58; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 522.54 points, or 3.34 per cent, to 15,100.17 -- led downward by shares of technology titans Apple Inc, Google parent Alphabet Inc, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms and Microsoft Corp, news agency Reuters reported.
Back home, investors were seen booking profits after a strong four-day rally in which both the benchmarks- Sensex and Nifty climbed more than 4 per cent each, analysts said.
Selling pressure was broad-based as all the 15 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty Financial Service index's over 1.5 per cent decline. Nifty Bank, Auto, information Technology, FMCG, Media, PSU Bank, Private Bank, Realty, Consumer Durables and Oil & Gas indices also fell between 0.75-1.5 per cent.
Mid- and small-cap shares also succumbed to selling pressure as Nifty Midcap 100 index dropped 0.94 per cent and Nifty Smallcap 100 index declined 0.85 per cent.
HDFC was top Nifty loser, the stock fell 2.45 per cent to Rs 2,608. HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, Adani Ports, IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, Infosys, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, JSW Steel and Hero MotoCorp also fell between 1.4-2.2 per cent.
On the flipside, Hindalco, UPL, Bharti Airtel and Coal India were among the notable gainers.
The overall market breadth was negative as 1,875 shares were declining while 1,008 were advancing on the BSE.