Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty declined by nearly 1% in opening trade on Monday following selling in IT banking and auto stocks triggered by weak global trends.
The 30-share BSE Sensex fell 474.96 points or 0.82% to 57,514.94 as 28 of its constituents traded in the red in the early session.
The broader Nifty of the National Stock Exchange dropped by 139.10 points or 0.81% to below the 17,000-level at 16,960.95. As many as 45 of its stocks declined led by Adani Enterprises, JSW Steel and Hindalco.
Among Sensex scrips, Mahindra & Mahindra fell the most by 1.86%. Tata Steel, Tata Motors, IndusInd Bank, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, and TCS dropped more than 1%. Reliance, SBI, ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank, and Axis Bank also dropped.
Hindustan Unilever and Kotak Bank bucked the trend, gaining up to 0.24%.
The U.S. banking crisis remained at the center stage keeping the participants on their toes. Besides, the continuous outflow of foreign funds added to worries, analysts said.
Most Asian markets dropped despite coordinated efforts by global central banks to ease a fast-growing banking crisis.
Banking giant UBS is buying crisis-ridden Credit Suisse for almost $3.25 billion. The deal was orchestrated by regulators to avoid further market-shaking turmoil in the global banking system as a plan for Credit Suisse to borrow up to $54 billion failed to reassure investors and the bank's customers.
In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 2.3%, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index declined by 0.97% and the Kospi in Seoul was down 0.39% and Singapore STI dropped by 0.87% The Shanghai Composite index added 0.24%.
The U.S. markets closed lower on Friday amid fears that the banking system may be cracking under the weight of the interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 sank 1.1% the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 1.2%, and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.7%.
On Friday, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were the net sellers and sold Indian equities worth ₹1,766.53 crore while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net buyers at ₹1,817.14 crore.
Foreign investors have put in ₹11,500 crore in Indian equities so far this month, mainly driven by bulk investment from the U.S.-based GQG Partners in Adani Group companies.
