Sensex Dips for 6th Straight Session, Rupee Weakens on Global Cues

The S&P BSE Sensex plunged 3 percent or 1,070 to 33,700 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index slumped 3 percent to 10,343. Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Reuters)

Indian equity benchmarks fell for the sixth straight day and the rupee weakened 0.2 percent to 64.19 against the dollar as the global stock sell-off weighed on investor sentiment, on Tuesday, 6 February.

The S&P BSE Sensex slumped 1.6 percent, or 561 points, to 34,195.94, and the NSE Nifty 50 Index plunged 1.58 percent, or 168 points, to 10,498.25.

Losses in today's session wiped out over Rs 2 lakh crore from the market value of the Indian benchmarks.

Selling pressure was broad-based as the S&P BSE MidCap Index fell 1.7 percent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index tumbled 2.2 percent.

All sector gauges compiled by the BSE ended lower, dragged down by the S&P BSE Consumer Durables Index's 2.7 percent drop.

Sensex Plunges As US Stocks Sink to New Low Since 2011

Indian equity benchmarks on Tuesday sank in-line with other global markets after US stocks fell the most since August 2011.

The S&P BSE Sensex plunged 3 percent or 1,070 to 33,700 and the NSE Nifty 50 Index slumped 3 percent to 10,343.

Intense selling pressure was seen across the broad as the S&P BSE MidCap Index tanked 3.5 percent and the S&P BSE SmallCap Index plunged 3.8 percent.

The sell-off was sparked after Asian shares and US stock futures sank on Tuesday, with the Wall Street suffering its biggest decline since 2011 as investors' faith in factors underpinning a bull-run in markets began to crumble.

S&P mini futures fell as much as 2.5 percent to nearly four-month lows in Asia, extending their losses from the record peak hit just over a week ago to almost 12 percent.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan slid 3.5 percent to a one-month low, which would be its biggest fall in more than a year and a half, a day after it had fallen 1.6 percent.

Japan's Nikkei tumbled as much as 5.6 percent while Taiwan shares lost 5.3 percent at one point.

Australian shares dropped 3.0 percent to their lowest since October while South Korean shares fell 3.0 percent as well.

The rout came after US stocks plunged in highly volatile trading on Monday, with the Dow industrials falling nearly 1,600 points during the session, its biggest intraday decline in history, as investors grappled with rising bond yields and potentially higher inflation.

(With inputs from BloombergQuint and Reuters.)