Indian shares snapped a nine-day winning streak after Infosys tumbled over 9 per cent and sparked a selloff in IT stocks, following the country's second largest services exporter's weak quarterly results and forecast.
The Nifty 50 closed 0.68 per cent lower at 17,706.85, while S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.86 per cent to 59,910.75.
The benchmark Nifty traded in a near-300 point range, its widest since March 13.
Infosys was the top drag on the Nifty after it forecast revenue growth hitting a six-year low in fiscal 2024 with US and European clients deferring spending.
The IT index sank 4.71 per cent to close at a six-month low. All 10 constituents were down between 1.5 per cent and 10 per cent.
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HCLTech, the only IT company due to report results this week, fell nearly 3 per cent. Tech Mahindra Ltd slid over 5 per cent, also weighed down by a Citigroup downgrade to "sell".
The decline in the market also mirrors weakness in the global markets, said two analysts. They expect the Nifty to find support in the 17,200-17,600 range and resistance at 18,200.
Global equities were subdued after data showing resilient US core retail sales bumped up the odds of the Federal Reserve raising rates by 25 basis points in May.
However, the steep drop in domestic stocks was mostly restricted to large-cap companies. The Nifty midcap 100 index and Nifty small-cap 100 logged gains of 0.39 per cent and 0.33 per cent, respectively.
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Among other stocks, Nestle India jumped 4 per cent ahead of the record date on April 21 for the payment of interim dividend. Nestle was the top gainer in the Nifty Fast Moving Consumer Goods index, which rose over 1 per cent.
Power Grid Corp of India rose 2.36 per cent to a 11-month high, while State Bank of India added 2.07 per cent and was among the top gainers in the bank and financial services indexes.