Indian equity benchmarks started Monday's session on a negative note amid weakness across global markets. Heavyweights Infosys and HDFC Bank -- which reported their financial results for the January-March period last week -- were among the biggest drags on the headline indices.

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Both gauges made a huge gap-down start to the day. The 30-scrip Sensex index opened 1,000.4 points or 1.7 percent lower at 57,338.6, and the broader Nifty50 benchmark at 17,183.5, down 292.2 points or 1.7 percent from its previous close.

At 9:20 am, the Sensex was down 1,058.8 points or 1.8 percent at 57,280.1 and the Nifty50 down 284.5 points or 1.6 percent at 17,191.2.

Infosys, Tech Mahindra, the HDFC twins, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HCL Tech, Wipro and TCS -- trading between 2.2 percent and six percent -- were the top losers among blue-chip stocks.

On the other hand, ONGC, NTPC, Tata Steel, Bajaj Auto and Coal India, up between 0.8 percent and 2.1 percent, rose the most among the 11 gainers in the Nifty50 pack.

Infosys and HDFC Bank were among the biggest contributors to the fall in both main indices.

Post-market hours on Wednesday, Infosys reported a disappointing set of earnings for the January-March period.

Market expert Prakash Diwan told CNBC-TV18 that the wait for Infosys to match the premium valuation always enjoyed by TCS is going to be seemingly longer.

"While the key numbers seem to be below expectations, one good thing is the confidence with which they are talking about being able to execute higher quantum of contracts in the coming years... That could probably be significantly better and is definitely comforting. There doesn't seem to be anything very majorly upsetting but, yes, the quarter gone by doesn't seem to have gone off as well as it has for TCS on a lot of other counts," he said.

"Yes, the market might probably want to see Infosys come up with something superior to be able to start to accord better valuations going forward, which could be a couple of quarters away," he added.

Here's how Infosys shares have performed in the past one year:

On Saturday, HDFC Bank reported a quarterly net profit and a net interest income (NII) that fell short of Street expectations. Brokerage CLSA said the lender's Q4 earnings were a mixed bag, with the net interest margin (NIM) only expected to recovery gradually.

The brokerage prefers ICICI Bank, Axis Bank and SBI over HDFC Bank.

Broader markets also weakened, with the Nifty Micdap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices dropping more than one percent in early deals.

In the midcap and smallcap segments, Alok, Masket, Coforge and Nocil -- falling around 2-7 percent -- were the top losers. On the flipside, Hatsun Agro, Gujarat Ambuja, Godfrey Philips and NCC -- rising around 3-8 percent -- were the top gainers.

Global markets

Equities in other Asian markets fell in early hours despite China's better-than-expected quarterly GDP reading. MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4 percent at the last count.

Japan's Nikkei 225 was down 1.8 percent, China's Shanghai Composite 0.8 percent and Singapore's Straits Times 0.4 percent. South Korea's KOSPI was flat.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.6 percent, after the three main US indices fell 0.3-2.1 percent on Friday.

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First Published:Apr 18, 2022 9:18 AM IST