Equity benchmarks went into a tailspin on April 18 as the Sensex fell 1,172.19 points, dragged down by heavyweights Infosys and HDFC twins amid a weak trend in Asian markets.
The 30-stock BSE Sensex lost 1,172.19 points, or 2.01%, to trade at 57,166.74. Over the day, it plunged 1,496.54 points, or 2.56%, to 56,842.39.
The broader NSE Nifty fell 302 points, or 1.73%, to close at 17,173.65.
Infosys, HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, and TCS were the biggest laggards in the Sensex pack.
On the other hand, winners included NTPC, Tata Steel, Maruti, Titan, Nestle, Titan and M&M.
Infosys plummeted 7.16% after fourth-quarter results failed to excite investors.
HDFC Bank declined 4.53% to ₹1,398.50, although the largest domestic private sector lender on Saturday reported a 22.8% increase in its standalone net income to ₹10,055.2 million for the quarter ended March 2022 .
Meanwhile, wholesale price-based inflation rose to a four-month high of 14.55% in March on rising prices for crude oil and other commodities due to disruptions in the global supply chain amid the Russia-Ukraine war, a development that may prompt the RBI to raise interest rates to curb inflation.
In Asia, the markets in Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo fell. Hong Kong was closed for a public holiday.
International oil benchmark Brent slipped 0.18% to $111.5 a barrel.
On Wednesday, the Sensex fell 237.44 points, or 0.41%, to settle at 58,338.93. The NSE Nifty fell 54.65 points, or 0.31%, to end at 17,475.65.
Stock markets were down on Thursday for Mahavir Jayanti and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Jayanti as well as closed on Friday for Good Friday.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net 2,061.04 crore of shares on Wednesday, according to stock market data.
