Sensex Falls Over 300 Points, Nifty Below 14,450; HDFC, Infosys Top Drags

Selling pressure was broad-based as all the 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower.

Indian equity benchmarks fell sharply on Friday mirroring losses in other Asian markets on fears that rising bond yields on US would result in outflow of foreign funds from emerging markets. The S&P BSE Sensex dropped as much as 449 points and Nifty 50 index touched an intraday low of 14,452. Asian share markets eased on Friday as a spike in global bond yields soured sentiment toward richly priced tech stocks, while a stampede out of crowded positions in crude oil caused the sharpest setback in months. As of 9:23 am, the Sensex was down 318 points at 48,898.53 and Niftty 50 index declined 118 points or 0.81 per cent to 14,440. Selling pressure was broad-based as all the 11 sector gauges compiled by the National Stock Exchange were trading lower led by the Nifty PSU Bank index's 1.3 per cent fall.