MARKET LIVE: Sensex off lows, down 1,300 pts, Nifty tests 17,100

Image: iSTOCK

Stock market live updates: The key benchmark indices continued to slide deeper into red on the back of unabated selling pressure in IT and financial shares, as Infosys and HDFC Bank disappointed on the earnings front. Further, a sharp spike in WPI-based inflation to 14.55 per cent in February 2022 also weighed on the sentiment.

The Sensex dipped below the 57,000-mark to a low of 56,922 so far, and was down 1,400 points at 56,925-odd levels. The NSE Nifty plunged 380 points to 17,096.

Among the Sensex 30 shares, Infosys and HDFC Bank slumped 7.8 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, and accounted for nearly 50 per cent of the day's losses on the BSE benchmark. 

HDFC too dropped nearly 4.5 per cent. Tech Mahindra, Wipro, TCS and HCL Technologies were the other major losers, down 3-4 per cent each. SBI, Bharti Airtel, Bajaj Finserv and Larsen & Toubro declined over 2 per cent as well.

NTPC, however, surged 3.5 per cent and was the top outperformer. Tata Steel and Nestle India were the other notable gainers.

The broader markets were also significantly in red. The BSE Midcap index shed 1.6 per cent, and the Smallcap index dropped 1.3 per cent. The overall breadth was negative, with more than 2,200 stocks declining versus 1,200 advancing shares on the BSE so far.