The key benchmark indices opened in red on Thursday, amid mixed global cues. The BSE Sensex sank 1000 points to 53,180, and the NSE Nifty tanked 300 points to 15,920 in early trade.
Barring ITC, all Sensex shares opened in the red. Tech M, Wipro, Bajaj twins, Infosys, Tata Steel, and HCL Tech were major laggards, down up to 3.8 per cent.
The broader markets were also weak with the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices slumped up to 2 per cent.
On the NSE, the sectoral indices were also in red with Nifty Bank, Auto, Financials, FMCG, and IT, down up to 2.14 per cent.
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Meanwhile, the Indian rupee opened 11 paise lower at 77.69 per dollar Thursday on against previous close of 77.58.
Besides, Asian stocks fell sharply; MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2% in early Asian trading hours, the first daily decline in a week. Japan's Nikkei tumbled 2.4 per cent. The Hang Seng Index dipped 2.71 per cent to 20,084.89. The Shanghai Composite Index opened down 0.96 per cent to 3,056.47, and the Shenzhen Composite Index, saw a dip of 0.91 per cent to 1,923.78.
Wall Street retreated sharply in the overnight session after mounting fears of an economic downturn hit Wall Street shares. S&P 500 index plunged over 4%, the biggest daily drop in almost two years, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index tumbled more than 5%.