Sensex tanks nearly 700 pts in early trade; Nifty dips below 17,600

Equity benchmark Sensex slumped nearly 700 points in opening trade on January 21, tracking intense selling pressure across the counters amid a negative trend in global markets and sustained foreign fund outflow.

The BSE gauge was trading 690.51 points or 1.16% lower at 58,774.11 in early trade. Likewise, the Nifty fell 194.10 points or 1.09% to 17,562.90.

Bajaj Finserv was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.59%, followed by Infosys, Dr. Reddy’s, Tech Mahindra, Sun Pharma, Wipro and IndusInd Bank.

On the other hand, PowerGrid and HUL were the only gainers.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE index ended 634.20 points or 1.06% lower at 59,464.62. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 181.40 points or 1.01% to 17,757.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo were trading with deep losses in mid-session deals.

Stock exchanges in the U.S. witnessed intense sell-off in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude declined 2.03% to USD 86.59 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth ₹4,679.84 crore on January 20, according to stock exchange data.