Stock Market Updates: Sensex down 200 points, Nifty below 15,700; HDFC Bank, HCL Tech top losers

Indian benchmark indices opened lower amid weak global cues. At 09:20 hours, the 30-share BSE index was trading 195.68 points or 0.37 per cent lower at 52,357.72, and the broader NSE Nifty was down 54.55 points or 0.35 per cent to 15,697.85.

HDFC Bank and HCL Tech were the top draggers in the Sensex pack, declining over 2 per cent, followed by Bharti Airtel, ICICI Bank, M&M and HDFC.

On the other hand,  Ultratech Cement and PowerGrid were among the gainers on BSE.

Sensex and Nifty slipped on the first trading session of this week as rising cases of Delta variant of Covid-19 threatened to derail global economic recovery. Sensex closed 586 points lower at 52,553 and Nifty fell 171 points to 15,752.

Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) emerged as net sellers as they sold shares worth Rs 2,198.71 crore on July 19, as per provisional data available on the NSE.