New Delhi, 23 March (H.S.):

Domestic stocks kicked off the week under heavy pressure today, with Sensex and Nifty both tumbling sharply in early trade amid thick negative sentiment right from the open.

Buyers tried mounting a fightback but couldn't stem the slide. By 10 am, Sensex was down 2.22% at 72,879.68 – off 1,653.28 points – while Nifty shed 2.25% to 22,595.45, a 519.05-point drop.

Sensex opened 800.38 points lower at 73,732.58, cratered to 72,977.34 (down 1,555.62), saw brief buying then resumed falling. Nifty mirrored it, starting 290.15 points off at 22,824.35, hitting 22,634.55 before edging to 22,741.35 then slumping again.

Among Sensex heavies, ONGC fell 0.87%, TCS 0.18% and HCL Tech 0.76%. Bigger losers included Tata Steel, Hindalco, Shriram Finance, JSW Steel and HDFC Life – down 2.85% to 4.18%.

Of 2,781 active stocks, just 240 traded green while 2,541 bled red. Sensex's 30 saw 3 in the black, 27 red; Nifty's 50 had 3 green, 47 red. Friday Sensex closed up 325.70 pts (0.44%) at 74,532.96; Nifty gained 112.35 pts (0.49%) to 23,114.50.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar