Equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty tanked around 1 % on Wednesday due to sharp losses mainly in IT, banking and FMCG shares following a global rout in equities on rate hike worries.
The 30-share BSE Sensex declined by 656.04 points or 1.08 % to close at 60,098.82, with 23 of its constituents ending in the red.
The broader NSE Nifty plunged by 174.65 points or 0.96 % to close at 17,938.40 points as 35 of its stocks closed with losses.
Infosys fell the most among Sensex stocks, declining by 2.85 %. Among other IT stocks, TCS fell by 1.87 %, Wipro by 1.52 %, and HCL Tech by 1.70 %.
Asian Paints by 2.71 %, HUL declined by 2.41 %, Bajaj Finance by 2.07 %, and Kotak Bank by 1.86 %.
Foreign investors remained net sellers in the Indian equity markets as they offloaded stocks worth ₹ 1,254.95 crore on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data.
Asian stock markets declined in cautious trading with Tokyo's Nikkei 225 plunging nearly 3 % following losses on Wall Street.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1 % to 7,332.50. South Korea's Kospi declined 0.8 %, the Shanghai Composite lost 0.3 % to 3,558.18. Hong Kong's Hang Seng inched up.