IT, banks drag indices down

THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF a global reduction in workforce by TCS and disappointing quarterly earnings of Kotak Mahindra Bank triggered a heavy sell-off across the IT and banking sectors on Monday.

- KISHOR KADAM

Starting the week on a weak note, the Sensex fell 572.07 points or 0.70% to close at 80,891.02, while the Nifty fell 156.10 points or 0.63% to 24,680.90. Both indices have recorded losses of up to 2.22% over the past three sessions.

On Sunday, TCS announced it would lay off 2% of its global workforce. Shares of the IT major fell 1.59% on Monday, followed by Wipro (down 1.57%), HCLTech (down 1.48%), and LTI-Mindtree (down 1%).