Sensex down 350pts, Nifty50 below 17,100; HAL skids 5%

Domestic equity markets opened lower in Thursday’s trade, as global sentiments turned weaker after the US Federal Reserve indicated another rate hike this year post a 25 basis point increase in March meeting.

Key indices Nifty50 lowered over 50 points to trade below 17,100 levels, whereas the S&P BSE Sensex declined over 300 points to trade around 57,911 levels.

Broader markets, too, inched lower in trade as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 indices fell up to 0.3 per cent. Volatility gauge, India VIX, meanwhile, climbed over 1 per cent.

Barring Nifty Pharma index that held marginal gains in a weak market, all sectors plunged in the sea of red. Nifty IT index was the worst as it declined 1 per cent.

Among individual stocks, shares of Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) declined over 5 per cent after the government proposed to sellup to 3.5 percent of its stake via OFS.

Besides, shares of Coromandel International gained over 1 per cent after the company planned diversification into speciality and industrial chemicals.