The losses in equity markets continued on Thursday as the 30-share BSE Sensex lost 581 points to finish trading at 57,276. The broader 50-share NSE Nifty closed at 17,110, down 167 points (0.97%) from the previous closing mark.

Amid losses in stock markets in various countries, Sensex had plunged more than 1,000 points in intra-day trading.

Only the stocks of Axis Banks and State Bank of India were performing well in the Sensex bracket, while the others suffered. The worst performers were Titan, HCL Technologies, Wipro, Bajaj Finserv and Nestle India.

The plunge was mainly due to Asian markets falling to their lowest in more than 14 months, increase in the United States’ treasury yields, and the US Federal Reserve hinting towards tightening its policy, reported NDTV. Higher US yields and interest rate hikes tend to make investments in equities in emerging markets like India less attractive, leading to an outflow of foreign funds.

Investors were also cautious about the political tensions between Russia and Ukraine.

Only the stocks of Axis Bank, State Bank of India, Maruti and Kotak Bank performed well on BSE. The worst performers were HCL Technologies, Tech Mahindra, Wipro, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Nestle India.

On NSE, the shares of Axis Bank and Cipla were amongst the top gainers. In this bracket, the top losers were HCL Technologies and Tech Mahindra.