The Sensex and the Nifty plunged over 0.8 per cent at the closing session on Wednesday due to heavy selling in IT and TECk counters amid weak global cues.
IT and TECk counters witnessed heavy selling after global investment bank >UBS pressed the 'sell' button in the Infosys counter after downgrading the stock by 32 per cent from the current market price.
The 30-share BSE index Sensex ended at 22,323.90, down 184.52 points and the 50-share NSE index Nifty ended at 6,652.55, down 62.75 points.
Barring consumer durables and power, all other BSE sectoral indices ended in the red. Among them, IT and TECk indices fell the most by 2.59 per cent and 2.23 per cent, respectively, followed by realty 1.11 per cent and metal 0.71 per cent. On the other hand, consumer durables index was up 0.77 per cent and power 0.2 per cent.
NTPC, SBI, Sun Pharma, Axis Bank and HUL were the top five Sensex gainers, while the top five losers were Infosys, HDFC, Hindalco, Cipla and GAIL.
European stocks fell for a fourth day as the US said that Ukraine should proceed with its presidential election this month, ignoring Russia’s calls to postpone the vote.
Asian stocks fell to a one-month low, with Japanese shares leading the regional index towards its biggest drop in four weeks, as the yen held gains versus the dollar and emerging-market currencies strengthened.
Sustained worries over the instability in Ukraine pushed investors to book profits. Violence in Ukraine escalated where more than 30 pro-Russian separatists were killed in fighting near the east Ukraine rebel stronghold of Slaviansk.
Investors were keeping an eye on US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's congressional testimony later during the day. Yellen is widely expected to maintain a dovish policy stance, doing little to arrest the recent fall of the dollar, which has shown a limited response to positive economic data.