Sensex sinks 581 points on weak global cue; Nifty closes below 17,150

Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex tumbled 581 points on Thursday, in tandem with a global selloff after the US Federal Reserve signalled policy tightening from March.

The 30-share index ended 581.21 points or 1.00 per cent lower at 57,276.94. Similarly, the NSE Nifty plunged 167.80 points or 0.97 per cent to 17,110.15.

HCL Tech was the top loser in the Sensex pack, skidding over 4 per cent, followed by Tech Mahindra Dr Reddy's, Wipro, TCS, Titan and Infosys.

On the other hand, Axis Bank, SBI, Maruti and Kotak Bank were among the gainers.

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday indicated that there is ample room to raise interest rates to fight inflation.

Investors fear foreign capital outflows from emerging markets like India after rate hikes in the US.

Elsewhere in Asia, bourses in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul and Tokyo ended sharply lower on the hawkish Fed stance.

Stock exchanges in Europe were also largely trading in the red in mid-session deals.

Meanwhile, international oil benchmark Brent crude fell 0.16 per cent to USD 89.82 per barrel.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) remained net sellers in the capital markets, pulling out Rs 7,094.48 crore Tuesday, as per provisional data.