Mumbai: Equity benchmark Sensex on Thursday plunged about 965 points to crash below the 80,000 level due to heavy selling in global equities after the US Federal Reserve signalled fewer rate cuts next year.

Besides, deep losses in consumer durables, banking and IT stocks amid foreign fund outflows added to the gloom, analysts said.

Falling for the fourth day running, the 30-share BSE benchmark Sensex tanked 964.15 points or 1.20 per cent to settle at 79,218.05. During the day, the blue-chip index cracked 1,162.12 points or 1.44 per cent to 79,020.08.

The NSE Nifty tumbled 247.15 points or 1.02 per cent to sink below the 24,000 mark at 23,951.70.

“The Indian market saw a widespread decline following a global sell-off driven by the US Fed’s hawkish stance on interest rates. Sectors sensitive to interest rates, such as banking and real estate, significantly bore the brunt.

“However, the BoJ’s decision to keep its interest rate steady, which surprised economists, aided in reducing the selling pressure. Despite this, investor caution persisted amid ongoing FII selling, with a strategic shift towards defensive sectors like pharma as evidenced by their outperformance,” Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services, said.

From the 30 blue-chip pack, Infosys, Bajaj Finserv, JSW Steel, Bajaj Finance, Asian Paints, ICICI Bank, Reliance Industries, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra were the biggest laggards.

On the other hand, Sun Pharma, Power Grid and Hindustan Unilever were the gainers.

In Asian markets, Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong settled lower.

European markets were trading in the negative territory. Wall Street ended sharply lower on Wednesday.

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 1,316.81 crore on Wednesday, according to exchange data.

Global oil benchmark Brent crude dipped 0.08 per cent to USD 73.33 a barrel.

The BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled 502.25 points or 0.62 per cent to settle at 80,182.20, taking its downtrend to the third day on Wednesday. The Nifty declined 137.15 points or 0.56 per cent to 24,198.85.