Sensex drops 179 points; Nifty ends below 15,700

Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 179 points on Thursday, weighed by losses in index heavyweights HDFC twins, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank amid a largely negative trend in global equities.

The 30-share BSE index ended 178.65 points or 0.34 per cent lower at 52,323.33. The broader NSE Nifty declined 76.15 points or 0.48 per cent to 15,691.40.

IndusInd Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding around 3 per cent, followed by Dr Reddy's, NTPC, Maruti, Axis Bank, Bajaj Auto, Bharti Airtel and HDFC.

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On the other hand, UltraTech Cement, TCS, Asian Paints and Infosys were among the gainers.

"Bulls stepped back a bit following the economic forecast by the US Federal Reserve as the street stayed cautious on the slow economic recovery in emerging markets unlike some of the developed markets," said S Ranganathan, Head of Research at LKP Securities.

The Fed's policymakers said they would raise their benchmark short-term rate, which influences many consumer and business loans, twice by late 2023. They had previously estimated that no rate hike would occur before 2024.

While metal names saw profit-booking, we did witness keen buying interest in cement and IT well supported by select consumer names during the volatile afternoon session of trade, Ranganathan noted.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai and Hong Kong ended on a positive note, while Seoul and Tokyo were in the red.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading with losses in mid-session deals.

International oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.09 per cent higher at $74.46 per barrel.