Fears of possible recession in the US led to investors selling off heavily the stocks of Indian IT companies in a weak market and blue-chips like TCS, Infosys and Wipro plunged sharply on the bourses.
The country's largest IT exporter TCS was trading 5.7% down at Rs 1,034 in mid-day trade, while Infosys was also down 5.5% at Rs 2,559.60.
Among other IT majors, Wipro was down 3.6% at Rs 362.20. The three IT stocks were among the biggest losers in the Sensex pack.
The US is among the biggest markets for Indian IT companies and any trouble in the American economy is considered a big negative for them.
The benchmark Sensex was also trading nearly 580 points down at its lowest level in more than a year, mirroring a sharp plunge in the US markets last night and negative cues from European and Asian markets.
Stocks like HCL Tech, Mphasis, Patni Computer and Tech Mahindra were also down by 3-7%.