Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex slumped 486 points on Thursday, largely in tandem with a global selloff as rising cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant in multiple countries and hawkish comments from the US Federal Reserve spooked investors.
The 30-share BSE index ended 485.82 points or 0.92 per cent lower at 52,568.94, while the broader NSE Nifty dropped 151.75 points or 0.96 per cent to 15,727.90.
Tata Steel was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding 2.30 per cent, followed by Sun Pharma, SBI, ICICI Bank, Dr Reddy's, Kotak Bank and HUL.
On the other hand, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Auto, PowerGrid, HCL Tech and NTPC were among the gainers, rising up to 1.32 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index corrected by over 2.50 per cent as investors dumped Chinese tech giants led by mounting concerns about regulatory risk, he noted.
Asian stock markets fell after the Federal Reserve talked about possibly reducing US economic stimulus and Japanese officials prepared to declare a coronavirus state of emergency during the Olympics due to a surge in infections, he added.
Sectorally, BSE metal, bankex, basic materials, finance and auto indices fell up to 2.43 per cent, while utilities and power indices ended with gains.
In rest of Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Seoul and Tokyo too ended with significant losses.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading in the red in mid-session deals.