Markets down 1%; Sensex tanks 671 points

Benchmark stock indices Sensex and Nifty tanked more than 1 per cent on Friday due to heavy selling in IT, financial and oil stocks in line with weak trends in the global markets.

The 30-share Sensex tanked 671.15 points or 1.12 per cent to close at 59,135.13, as 21 of its scrips declined.

The index opened lower and slid further to touch a low of 58,884.98 in the day.

The broader Nifty plunged 176.70 points or 1 per cent to close at 17,412.90, with 35 of its stocks ending in the red.

The index moved in a range of 17,324.35 to 17,451.50 during the session.

Among Sensex shares, HDFC Bank fell the most by 2.58 per cent, followed by SBI (2.12 per cent), HDFC (2.09 per cent), and IndusInd Bank (2.02 per cent).

Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, M&M, L&T, Reliance, Infosys and TCS were among the major losers.

In contrast, Tata Motors, Maruti, NTPC, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Titan were among the gainers.

Heavy selling in financial, banking, IT and capital goods shares triggered by weak Asian markets and overnight losses in the US market dragged down the benchmark indices, analysts said.

"The sell-off in US markets was triggered by a crash of 60 per cent in SVB Financials - a bank that mainly funds startups.

"This impacted sentiments and banking stocks took a beating on concerns that rising interest rates might trigger loan repayment defaults," VK Vijayakumar, chief investment strategist at Geojit Financial Services said.

Global stock markets declined on Friday ahead of a US job market data amid worries about possible interest rate hikes.

Markets in London, Shanghai, Frankfurt and Tokyo declined. Oil prices were lower.

The global market's cautious attitude towards the probability of a sharper rate hike was exacerbated by further negative signs from the US market.

Selling intensified as the market awaited the release of US unemployment and non-farm payroll data, Vinod Nair, head of research at Geojit Financial Services, said.

In the US, S&P 500 tumbled 1.8 per cent, Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1.7 per cent and Nasdaq composite fell 2.1 per cent on Thursday as investors remain anxious about the prospect of more aggressive action by the Federal Reserve to fight inflation with higher interest rates.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers in the capital market on Thursday as they sold shares worth Rs 561.78 crore, according to exchange data.