Sensex nosedives on sinking rupee

Investors anxious over RBI’s stance on inflation: Expert

Mumbai, Oct. 4: The BSE benchmark Sensex plummeted over 800 points in afternoon session on Thursday as rupee sank to another low amid boiling crude prices, weak global cues.

The rupee plunged to a new low of 73.81 against the dollar, while the international benchmark Brent crude breached the US 86 per barrel level, nearing its four-year high.

The BSE 30-share barometer pared some losses and was trading at 616.15 points, or 1.71 per cent, lower at 35,359.48 at 1245 hrs. The gauge had lost nearly 550 points in the previous session on Wednesday.

The NSE Nifty index too fell 213.15 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 10,645.10. Volatility index India VIX also surged 6 per cent.

All sectoral indices were trading in the red, with IT, auto, pharma, banking and realty stocks witnessing most losses.

Mumbai, Oct. 4: The Sensex on Thursday hit its lowest level in three months, crashing over 806 points to close below the 35,200-level as concerns over weakening rupee and rising crude prices spooked investors.

Similarly, Nifty cracked the 10,600-level by falling 259 points.

The rupee plunged to an all-time low (intra-day) of 73.81 to the US dollar and global crude oil prices touched a four-year high of $86 a barrel, triggering worries for India on the macro-economic front.

The weakness in other Asian markets and a lower opening of the european shares also added to negative sentiments on the domestic bourses.

“The strongest of businesses and the bluest of blue chips have cracked in the last couple of sessions, which highlights the prevailing negative sentiment and environment of pessimism. With the rupee hitting record low, crude prices moving northwards, increasing fears of a broadening current account deficit along with the liquidity worries led to another major fall in the indices...” Devang Mehta, head of equity advisory at Centrum Wealth Management, said.

A sharp plunge mainly in healthcare, IT, oil&gas, banking and auto pulled the Sensex lower by 806.47 points, or 2.24 per cent, to 35,169.16 points, extending losses for the second day. Intra-day, it hit a low of 35,022.12.

“Anxieties over the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) adopting an aggressive stance in its monetary policy due to a rise in inflationary pressure led to an erosion in investors’ risk appetite. With deteriorating macros, all eyes will now be on the second quarter earnings and how the current liquidity situation is addressed,” Mehta said.

Elsewhere in Asia, Kong’s Hang Seng lost 1.73 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei shed 0.56 per cent, while Taiwan plunged 1.33 per cent. — PTI