Sensex tanks 351 points

The global sell-off in equities, triggered by further escalation of global trade war fears, weighed on the benchmark indices as they erased the modest early session gains and dropped sharply to end over 1 per cent lower each on risk aversion, dealers said.

The weakness in equities was evident across the globe, with most Asian indices closing sharply lower and European indices falling in early trade. US stock futures also turned negative after the development.

Domestic investors were also reluctant to expand their portfolios ahead of the RBI's monetary policy review, brokers said.

The 30-share Sensex ended 351.56 points or 1.05 per cent down at 33,019.07, its biggest fall since March 23, when it had lost 409.73 points.

The broader NSE Nifty closed at 10,128.40, down by 116.60 points, or 1.14 per cent.

"Global market volatility continued to give a ripple effect to the market despite gradual recovery in domestic economy and moderation in inflation. RBI's policy is likely to support near term sentiment while clarity on earnings growth and monsoon will give more transparency in direction," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services.

Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 376.51 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) bought shares to the tune of Rs 479.18 crore yesterday, as per provisional data. Globally, European markets were trading in the negative zone in their early deals. Frankfurt's DAX fell 1.12 per and France's Paris CAC was down 0.40 per cent. London's FTSE declined 0.42 per cent.