Sensex tanks over 900 points in early trade; Nifty slips below 17,000

Equity benchmark Sensex slumped over 900 points in opening trade on Tuesday, tracking losses in index majors Wipro, RIL and HDFC Bank amid a weak trend in Asian markets.

Besides, frantic foreign capital outflows also weighed on domestic equities, even as concerns over the US Federal Reserve's possible aggressive monetary policy tightening deepened, traders said.

The BSE gauge was trading 905.16 points or 1.57 per cent lower at 56,586.35 in early trade. Similarly, the Nifty fell 253.80 points or 1.48 per cent to 16,895.30.

Asian Paints was the top loser in the Sensex pack, shedding 4.38 per cent, followed by Wipro, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank.

On the other hand, Axis Bank, Bharti Airtel, and PowerGrid were the gainers.

In the previous session, the 30-share index ended 1,545.67 points or 2.62 per cent lower at 57,491.51. Likewise, the NSE Nifty slumped 468.05 points or 2.66 per cent to settle at 17,149.10.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Hong Kong, Seoul, Shanghai and Tokyo were trading with losses in mid-session deals amid rising geopolitical uncertainty over the Russia-Ukraine tussle.

Stock exchanges in the US ended on a positive note in the overnight session.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude rose 0.85 per cent to USD 87.00 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital market, as they sold shares worth Rs 3,751.58 crore on Monday, according to stock exchange data.