Sensex Crashes 1,416 Points On Inflation Worries, Nifty Settles Below 15,850; IT Stocks Drag

Indian equity benchmarks on Thursday extended their fall for the second straight session as fears over slower economic growth due to rising inflation dented investor sentiment. The domestic indices crashed, mirroring a weak trend in Asian stocks after an overnight decline in Wall Street, the worst since mid-2020.

The focus remained on how central banks will act while trying to regain control of inflation, which is now at 40-year highs in some countries, without causing painful recessions.

The 30-share BSE Sensex dived 1,416 points or 2.61 per cent to close at 52,792, while the broader NSE Nifty moved 431 points or 2.65 per cent down to settle at 15,809.

Investors' wealth tumbled around Rs 7 lakh crore to Rs 249.06 lakh crore in today's session.

Mid- and small-cap shares finished on a weak note as Nifty Midcap 100 tumbled 2.99 per cent and small-cap slumped 2.68 per cent.

All of the 15 sector gauges -- compiled by the National Stock Exchange -- settled in the red. Sub-indexes Nifty IT and Nifty Metal underperformed the index by falling as much as 5.74 per cent and 4.08 per cent, respectively.

On the stock-specific front, HCL Tech was the top Nifty loser as the stock cracked 5.80 per cent to Rs 1,011.40. Wipro, Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra were also among the laggards.

The overall market breadth stood negative as 857 shares advanced while 2,469 declined on BSE.

On the 30-share BSE index, Wipro, HCL Tech, Infosys, TCS, Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, M&M, Bajaj Finserv, Bharti Airtel, Titan, ICICI Bank and Reliance Industries were among the top losers.

In addition, shares of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) plunged 4.05 per cent to close at Rs 840.75 today. LIC made a tepid debut at the exchanges on Tuesday, listing at a discount of 8.62 per cent over its issue price of Rs 949.

In contrast, ITC, Dr Reddy's and PowerGrid settled in the green.