Markets took another blow as the Sensex plunged over 514 points to end at nearly 6-month low of 26,305 while the Nifty cracked below 8,200 mark on concerns about outflows amid surging US yields and the dollar gathering more steam.
Currency market was hit hard, with the rupee down 57 paise to a five-month low of 67.82 against the US currency during the day.
Sentiment continued to be weighed down by the government’s move last week to withdraw high-value currency notes and disappointing quarterly earnings by some more blue-chip companies, brokers said.
In a surprise move, the government had banned Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes in a bid to curb black money.
The Sensex opened lower at 26,809.61 and dropped further before ending down 514.19 points, or 1.92 per cent, at 26,304.63, a level last seen on May 25. It had lost 698.86 points on Friday on worries that US President-elect’s Donald Trump’s impending reforms may spark outflows from emerging markets (EMs).
The NSE Nifty fell sharply by 187.85 points, or 2.26 per cent, to 8,108.45, its lowest closing since June 27 when it settled at 8,094.70. Intra-day, it cracked below the 8,100-mark to hit a low of 8,093.20.
Persistent capital outflows from EMs amid all major Asian currencies declining against the US dollar since Trump’s shock win in the US presidential election on November 8 was another factor behind the big plunge on the domestic bourses.
