Indian markets suffered one of their worst sessions in weeks on Thursday as the Sensex plunged 1,045 points and the Nifty 50 hit a fresh 52-week low. Here is what triggered the selloff.

The BSE Sensex fell 1.44 per cent to close at 71,593, while the Nifty 50 declined 371 points, or 1.64 per cent, to 22,231. Over Rs 8 lakh crore of investor wealth was wiped out, and the fear gauge India VIX jumped about 10 per cent.

Four forces combined. Brent crude crossed $105 a barrel on Middle East tensions, raising India’s import bill. The RBI’s first rate hike in nearly four years, to 5.5 per cent, tightened financial conditions. Foreign investors kept selling heavily, and the rupee slipped to 96.88 against the dollar.

ITC, Adani Ports, IndiGo, Power Grid and Reliance were among the biggest losers, falling up to 4 per cent. IT stocks like TCS and Infosys gained up to 2 per cent, offering some support.

One bright spot: TCS posted Q2 profit of Rs 13,934 crore, up 14.8 per cent year-on-year, and declared a Rs 12 interim dividend.