MUMBAI: Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty slumped in early trade on Tuesday amid weak trends in the US markets and heavy selling in blue-chip stock Infosys.
The 30-share BSE Sensex plunged 346.23 points or 0.47 per cent to 73,768.94 in the morning trade. The Nifty of NSE declined 124.80 points or 0.56 per cent to 22,335.50.
From the 30 Sensex companies, IndusInd, Infosys, Mahindra & Mahindra, Zomato, Bajaj Finserv, UltraTech Cement, Tech Mahindra, Adani Ports, Tata Steel, Kotak Mahindra Bank and HDFC Bank were among the major laggards.
On the other hand, Sun Pharmaceuticals, ICICI Bank, Nestle India, Bharti Airtel, NTPC and Titan were the gainers.
"President Trump's flip-flop tariff policy and the high uncertainty that it has triggered has started impacting US stock markets, S&P 500 & Nasdaq declining by 2.6 per cent and 4 per cent, respectively, on Monday is the market's response to Trump's tariffs and the possibility of US recession by the year end," V K Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Financial Services, said.
In Asian markets, Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Seoul were trading in the negative zone.
US markets plunged to 4 per cent in overnight deals on Monday.
According to HDFC Securities' Head of Prime Research Devarsh Vakil, US stocks tumbled on Monday amid ongoing tariff conflicts and growing concerns about a potential federal government shutdown, fuelling worries that the US economy might be heading toward a recession.
Also, a weaker consumer sentiment, slower consumer spending, and tariff risks continue to weigh on the growth outlook, Vakil said.
Global oil benchmark Brent crude traded flat at USD 69.28 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 485.41 crore, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) picked up equities worth Rs 263.51 crore on Monday, according to exchange data.
On Monday, the 30-share BSE Sensex declined 217.41 points to settle at 74,115.17. The Nifty of NSE declined by 92.20 points to close at 22,460.30.