Mumbai: Indian equity benchmarks opened sharply lower on Friday, snapping a five-session winning streak as heavy selling in information technology stocks weighed on investor sentiment following a revenue growth guidance cut by global consulting giant Accenture.
The BSE Sensex plunged 786.58 points to 76,624.90 in early trade, while the NSE Nifty fell 210.95 points to 23,959.80, slipping below the 24,000 mark.
Technology stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off. Infosys declined more than 8 per cent, Tata Consultancy Services dropped around 6 per cent, while Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies lost nearly 5 per cent each. HDFC Bank and Tata Steel also traded in negative territory.
The broader weakness pushed the BSE IT index down 5.38 per cent.
Market participants reacted to Accenture's revised outlook, which sparked concerns over demand prospects for the IT services sector. According to VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments Limited, the guidance cut by Accenture triggered a sell-off in the American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) of major Indian IT companies, influencing sentiment in domestic markets.
Despite the broader decline, a few stocks managed to stay in positive territory. NTPC, Bharti Airtel, Trent and Power Grid were among the notable gainers in early trade.
Meanwhile, Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, eased 0.93 per cent to USD 79.11 per barrel.
Elsewhere in Asia, South Korea's Kospi and Japan's Nikkei 225 traded marginally higher, while US markets ended Thursday's session in positive territory.
Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers, offloading equities worth Rs 1,025.20 crore on Thursday, according to exchange data.
(With agency inputs from PTI)