Sensex tanks 572 pts on worldwide equity meltdown

Mumbai, Dec 6 Benchmark equity indices cracked for the third sequential session Thursday on negative global cues, powerless rupee and sustained selling by foreign as well as domestic institutional investors.

The BSE Sensex dove 572.28 points, or 1.59 percent, to close at 35,312.13. So also, the more extensive NSE Nifty fell 181.75 points, or 1.69 percent, to 10,601.15.

All sectoral records on the BSE and NSE finished in the red, driven by metal, oil and gas, pharma and financial stocks.

According to analysts, global markets were in a risk-off mode due to fresh flare-up of pressures among China and the US. Oil costs are creeping up on desire for creation cuts by Russia and Opec, debilitating rupee further.

The rupee was trading 36 paise bring down at 70.82 against the US dollar intra-day. The cash tumbled to an intra-day low of 71 for each dollar stamp in the midst of reinforcing American money and feeble household value advertise.

Oil costs extended losses ahead of the essential Opec meeting. Brent unrefined, the worldwide benchmark, was exchanging 1.82 percent bring down at USD 59.74 per barrel.

Top losers in the session included Maruti, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, Yes Bank, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, ONGC, HUL, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank, falling up to 5 percent.

Sun Pharma was the sole gainer on the Sensex, rising 1.57 percent.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 357.82 crore Wednesday, and domestic institutional speculators (DIIs) were net merchants to the tune of Rs 791.59 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, Korea's Kospi fell 1.55 percent, Japan's Nikkei dropped 1.91 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 2.47 percent and Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.68 percent.

In Europe, Frankfurt's DAX shed 2.36 percent and Paris' CAC 40 fell 2.21 percent in early arrangements. London's FTSE also slipped 2.50 percent.