The headline equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in afternoon trade, primarily driven by mixed global sentiment and a weak handover from the US markets. Concerns over Donald Trump's tariff policies and their potential impact on the US economy, along with reports of a new bat coronavirus strain in China and renewed tensions between Russia and Ukraine, weighed heavily on investor sentiment. The Nifty traded below the 22,600 level.

IT, Metal and oil & gas shares declined while FMCG, pharma and auto stocks edged higher.

At 13:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tumbled 804.79 points or 1.07% to 74,512.08. The Nifty 50 index dropped 235.50 points or 1.03% to 22,560.40.

In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.73% and the S&P BSE Small-Cap index slipped 0.76%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,219 shares rose and 2,684 shares fell. A total of 190 shares were unchanged.

Economy:

India's foreign exchange reserves snapped a three-week gaining streak to drop to $635.72 billion as of February 14, coming off over one-month highs, data released by the central bank on Friday showed.

Foreign currency assets, the largest component of forex reserves, dropped by $4.515 billion to $539.591 billion.

Gold reserves, however, saw a rise of $1.942 billion, reaching $74.15 billion during the week.

Meanwhile, special drawing rights (SDRs) increased by $19 million to $17.897 billion, and India’s reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) edged up by $14 million to $4.083 billion.

Gainers & Losers:

Eicher Motors (up 1.61%), Mahindra & Mahindra (up 1.54%), Dr. Reddy's Laboratories (up 1.39%), Nestle India (up 0.60%) and Tata Consumer Products (up 0.57%) were the major Nifty gainers.

Wipro (down 3.70%), Infosys (down 3.32%), HCL Technologies (down 3.15%), Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.29%), and Hindalco Industries (down 2.03%) were the major Nifty losers.

Stocks in Spotlight:

Bajaj Auto shed 0.96%. The company said its board has approved an investment of up to Euro 150 million (Rs 1,364) crore in its wholly-owned arm, Bajaj Auto International Holdings BV, Netherlands, to fund the needs of the latter towards investment opportunities.

Granules India advanced 2.07% after the company said that its board has approved to acquire 100% stake in Senn Chemicals AG, a Switzerland based company, for a total consideration of Rs 192.5 crore (CHF 20 million).

Hazoor Multi Projects added 1.87% after the company announced that it has bagged a contract from Venkatesh Infra Projects worth Rs 102.10 crore.

NBCC (India) shed 0.49%. The company has announced that it has received a work order worth Rs 264.16 crore from NIT Kurukshetra.

Colab Cloud Platforms hit an upper circuit of 2% after the company announced that it has formed a wholly-owned subsidiary (WOS) named Colab Sports Ventures, which will focus on the business of sports goods, equipment, and apparels.

Global Markets:

US Dow Jones index futures were up 193 points, suggesting a strong opening for US equities.

Most European shares advanced on Monday following the victory of Germany's conservative party in national elections.

Most Asian stocks declined, as mirroring Wall Street's sharpest decline of the year. US economic data revealed weakening service sector activity and diminished consumer sentiment, fueling concerns about a potential slowdown and its impact on corporate earnings. Additionally, renewed inflation worries and unease stemming from a new bat coronavirus study in China contributed to market volatility.

US indices experienced significant losses Friday, triggered by disappointing service sector PMI and consumer sentiment figures. These data points heightened apprehension about a cooling US economy.

While weaker growth could prompt the Federal Reserve to consider interest rate cuts, it also raises the possibility of a less favorable business climate, potentially affecting corporate profitability. Economic uncertainty was further amplified by the possibility of new 25% tariffs on automobile, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and lumber imports. The S&P 500 fell 1.7% to 6,013.13, the NASDAQ Composite dropped 2.2% to 19,524.01, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average decreased 1.7% to 43,428.02.

S&P Global's preliminary composite purchasing managers' index for the US declined to 50.4 in February from 52.7 in January, with the services PMI falling to 49.7 from 52.9. The University of Michigan's sentiment index showed US consumer sentiment weakened in February, registering 64.7, down from 71.1.

NVIDIA Corporation shares fell 4.1% on Friday, reflecting growing anticipation and uncertainty ahead of the company's earnings release this week.