Sensex Tanks Nearly 700 Pts In Early Trade; Nifty Dips Below 17,600

Equity benchmark Sensex slumped nearly 700 points in opening trade on Friday, 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 per cent lower at 58,774.11 in early trade. Likewise, the Nifty fell 194.10 points or 1.09 per cent to 17,562.90.

Bajaj Finserv was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 2.59 per cent, 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 per cent lower at 59,464.62. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 181.40 points or 1.01 per cent 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 US witnessed intense sell-off in the overnight session.

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

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