Muristek
Mumbai, June 10
Equity benchmark Sensex declined nearly 600 points in early trade on Friday, following weakness in IT, banking and finance stocks amid sluggish investor sentiment in global markets.
Besides, a weaker rupee also weighed on the domestic equity markets, traders said.
The 30-share index was trading 597.2 points or 1.08 per cent lower at 54,723.08 in initial deals. Similarly, the Nifty slumped 176.30 points or 1.07 per cent to 16,301.80.
Wipro was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 3.38 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra, Tata Steel, Infosys, Kotak Bank, Bajaj Finance, HDFC twins and TCS.
On the other hand, PowerGrid, NTPC and Titan were the gainers.
In the previous session, the 30-share BSE Sensex surged 427.79 points or 0.78 per cent to close at 55,320.28. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty advanced 121.85 points or 0.74 per cent to finish at 16,478.10.
The rupee depreciated 8 paise to a record low of 77.82 against the US dollar in opening trade.
Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading with deep losses in mid-session deals, while Shanghai was in the green.
Stock exchanges in the US ended sharply lower in the overnight session.
Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.65 per cent to USD 122.27 per barrel.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 1,512.64 crore on Thursday, as per exchange data.