Other major laggards were IndusInd Bank, SBI, Bharti Airtel, ONGC, Tata Steel and Reliance Industries -- falling as much as 6.30 per cent.
The 50-share NSE Nifty too closed down 168.30 points, or 1.58 per cent, at 10,498.25 -- a level last seen on January 3 when it closed at 10,443.20.
The index widened its loss towards the fag-end on emergence of intense selling in heavyweights like ITC, RIL and ICICI Bank. In percentage terms, however, Sun Pharma was the biggest loser with 9.39 per cent drop. Intra-day, the pharma major's shares tanked over 20 per cent.
Officials said there had been no official word or indication from the top yet. The expectation from officials is to do what they can, but it is understood that all fiscal and budgetary targets don't matter anymore.
'This market is very expensive in some pockets, dirt cheap in some, and the belly of the market is reasonably valued.'
The 30-share Sensex shed 82 points or 0.4% to close at 21,775 levels and the 50-share Nifty was down 24 points or 0.4% at 6,493.10 levels.
Half a dozen stocks from the large-cap universe and over two dozen from the mid-cap universe have been replaced.
It plans to lower employment costs with the estimated reduction in employee numbers, about two-thirds of which are expected to be office-based white-collar roles - a majority expected at its Netherlands unit.
Forex traders said a stronger dollar also dragged the rupee down.
Top losers in the Sensex pack included ICICI Bank, Tata Steel, Vedanta, HDFC IndusInd Bank, Tata Motors, RIL and ONGC -- falling up to 4.45 per cent.
11 top defensive stocks in the information technology (IT), pharmaceutical and fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sectors made a new all-time high, while cyclical stocks saw a sell-off.
Weakness in the rupee against the US dollar also weighed on domestic stocks. The local unit fell 11 paise to 70.60 against the US dollar intra-day.
BSE Bankex and Telecom indices led the fall.
While smart boys like the Ruias of Essar, Ajay Piramal, Max India promoter Analjit Singh laughed all the way to the bank, the Tatas, Anil Ambani, Malaysian tycoon T Ananda Krishna of Maxis (which invested in Aircel), Sistema, and Norway's Telenor burnt their fingers, notes Surajeet Das Gupta.
The 30-share Sensex ended down 211 points at 20,091 and the 50-share Nifty slipped 87 points to close at 5,991.
Equity flows have been under pressure since the second half of 2018, after the IL&FS crisis sent shockwaves in both equity and debt markets.
Previous peak in 2010 crossed in first five-and-a-half months this year.
Relativity Media Founder and CEO Ryan Kavanaugh plans to sell off his Malibu beach house for $10.5 million.
In September, net equity inflows stood at Rs 6,609 crore, compared to Rs 9,152 crore in the previous month. In the last four months, this is the lowest net inflow tally seen by the equity category.
Nifty PSU bank index dropped nearly 2%
Amid slowing growth and low interest rates, investors will need to focus on stock-picking, suggests John Remmert.
The broader NSE Nifty too fell over 150 points to crack below the 10,400-mark as financials, IT and energy stocks declined.
Gold, forex assets, IT sector, pharma. Devangshu Datta explains why each of these is a good hedge against market shocks at this time.
In the Indian markets, along with the international gold prices, the rupee rate and government taxes also play an important role in determining gold prices.
Nifty could fall to 9,500 levels; not a good time to bottom fish, say experts
The country's top FMCG stocks, such as Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Nestl, Britannia, Godrej Consumer Products, and Dabur, among others, are currently trading at around 41x their trailing 12-month earnings, down from their peak P/E multiple of around 48x at the end of December 2018.
Indian capital markets joined the global sell-off sparked by China growth concerns
Besides, a sharp 8% decline in Chinese stocks added to the sell-off in domestic equities
The 30-share BSE Sensex shed 0.9% or 186 points at 20,536 while the 50-unit NSE Nifty was off 1% or 61 points at 6,091.
Macro-economic data from China and minutes of the US Federal Reserve's last meeting caused the turmoil as stocks tumbled around the globe.
Sustained foreign fund inflows and strengthening rupee are among the main reasons behind the market rally.
The markets will also keenly eye the HSBC manufacturing and services data.
'The challenge in India will be reviving consumption/investment.' 'If the negative surprise in earnings is very sharp or lasts longer than March, it can trigger a sharp sell-off.'
Late selling in blue-chips like Reliance Industries, ITC, Infosys, TCS and Bharti Airtel dragged down the index from the record level to close flat.
The biggest losers in the Sensex pack were Vedanta, Tata Steel, M&M, Tata Motors, Maruti, Hero MotoCorp, PowerGrid, Bharti Airtel, SBI and Coal India -- falling up to 4.48 per cent.
Rate sensitive shares led the decline ahead of RBI monetary policy review tomorrow.
The company shut its factory on June 3, which ironically was also World Bicycle Day. It laid off its 431 remaining employees, but the company insists they continue to be on its rolls and will be paid "lay-off wages" upon marking attendance daily.
IT major Infosys crashed 8.5 per cent to 3,357.50 on reports that the management expects sluggish growth in January-March quarter in the current financial year.
After turning net buyers for the fifth straight month till June, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) withdrew a net of Rs 11,743 crore ($1.7 billion) in July. This was their highest outflow since October 2018.
'The government has failed to understand the seriousness of the situation, and that's why they are underestimating the problem.' 'They think some tinkering here and there will fix the economy automatically.'
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