Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai fell significantly.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai fell significantly.
Benchmark indices trotted for a fifth trot on Thursday, with Sensex and Nifty each down over 2%, tracking extremely weak global trends and selling off in index majors HDFC twins, Reliance Industries and ICICI Bank.
Unchecked selling by foreign institutional investors also continued to weigh on sentiment. In addition, investors remained cautious ahead of the April inflation rate and March industrial production data releases.
The 30-stock BSE Sensex plunged 1,158.08 points, or 2.14%, to finish below the 53,000 level at 52,930.31. Over the day, it plunged 1,386.09 points, or 2.56%, to 52,702.30.
The NSE Nifty fell 359.10 points, or 2.22%, to settle at 15,808.
“Undoubtedly, the biggest negative catalyst continues to be inflation in all economies around the world. Concerns in equity markets around the world are behind the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate strategy…” said Prashanth Tapse, Vice President (Research), Mehta Equities.
Among the Sensex companies, the biggest laggards included IndusInd Bank, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC, Titan, NTPC and State Bank of India.
In contrast, Wipro and HCL Technologies were the only winners.
Elsewhere in Asia, markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai fell significantly.
The stock markets in Europe recorded sharp cuts in the afternoon session.
The stock exchanges in the US closed in the red on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent Crude fell 2.02% to $105.7 a barrel.
Overseas institutional investors continued their selling spree, selling shares worth Rs 3,609.35 crore on Wednesday, according to stock market data.
