Sensex sinks 773 pts; Nifty slumps below 17,400

Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 773 points on Friday, tracking huge losses in IT and financial stocks amid a fresh sell-off in global markets.

Persistent selling by foreign funds also affected the sentiment, traders said.

The 30-share BSE index ended 773.11 points or 1.31 per cent lower at 58,152.92. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 231.10 points or 1.31 per cent to 17,374.75.

Tech Mahindra was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Infosys, HCL Tech, SBI, Kotak Bank and HDFC.

On the other hand, IndusInd Bank, NTPC and Tata Steel were among the gainers.

In other Asian markets, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai ended with losses, while Tokyo closed in the green.

Stock exchanges in Europe were under intense selling pressure in afternoon trade.

International oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.43 per cent to USD 91.80 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, offloading shares worth Rs 1,732.58 crore on Thursday, according to stock exchange data.