Indian shares plunged sharply on Friday afternoon fearing an escalation in tensions between India and Pakistan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's address post-cabinet meeting held to review the situation in the aftermath of the Thursday's Pulwama terror attack further dented investor risk appetite in equities amid weak global cues. The Modi government has withdrawn the 'most favoured nation' status to Pakistan under the World Trade Organisation rules. Modi assured the nation that all involved in the Pulwama attack that killed 44 CRPF jawans will be punished, adding that Pakistan has made a huge mistake and will have to pay.

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NSE

At 12.32 pm, the Sensex was down by over 300 points, or 0.87 percent, to 35,565. The Nifty traded below 10,650, lower by more than 99 points, or 0.92 percent, to trade at 10,646.70. HDFC, HDFC Bank, Tata Consultancy Services, Sun Pharma, Reliance Industries, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Kotak Bank, Tata Steel were the top drags on indexes, while Power Grid, NTPC, L&T, ONGC and ITC provided relief.

The underperformance in broader markets was more sharp with the Nifty MidCap down by 1.4 percent and the BSE MidCap lower by 1.52 percent. Nifty Pharma declined almost 5 percent, the worst among 30 falling sectors. BSE Utilities surged over 2 percent, leading 13 gaining sectors.

Power Grid, Bharti Infratel, NTPC, BPCL, ONGC, Coal India and L&T were major index gainers, while Dr Reddy's Labs, Sun Pharma, JSW Steel, Grasim, Tata Steel, Bajaj Finance, Vedanta and Yes Bank were major laggards.

Shares of Dr Reddy's Laboratories

plunged nearly 23 percent after a research report flagged USFDA observation issued at the company's formulation plant.

The stock of Bengaluru-based Page Industries was down about 7%. Shares of sugar companies advanced today after the government hiked the minimum selling price (MSP) of sugar by Rs 2 per kg to Rs 31.

In currency market, the rupee traded at 71.29 against the US dollar at 12.41 pm.

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