Sensex back to May 2014 level, slips below 24K; rupee breaches 68-mark

Market benchmark Sensex dropped to their weakest since before the election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while the rupee slumped to 2013 crisis levels on increasing concerns the country will be hit hard by the growing turmoil in global markets.

The Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday fell 418 points as part of a global selloff as investors panicked amid a cut in growth forecast by the International Monetary Fund and uncertainty in China along with the continued slide in oil prices which reaffirmed a slowdown in the global economy.

File photo of Bombay Stock Exchange building in Mumbai. (PTI)

The Sensex closed at 24,062 points, after falling below 24,000 level during trading, a level not seen since the Narendra Modi government came to power in May 2014.

The 50-share Nifty on the NSE also corrected sharply, falling 1.7% to 7,309 points.

“This is clearly the fear of the unknown,” said Mayuresh Joshi, vice president at Angel Broking. “Investors still don’t know to what extent China has been affected and also to what levels crude would fall. Domestically, Indian companies too have not helped much with the lackluster earnings seen so far,” he added.

Biggest losers for the day were heavyweights Adani Ports (down 5.53%), State Bank of India (down 5.13%), Reliance Industries (down 3.76%), Coal India (off 3.45%), Maruti and Tata Motors (down 3.4% each).

In 2016, FIIs have sold cash shares worth over Rs 6,000 crore, hurting Indian markets in a big way.

The rupee dipped to a 29-month low to 68.16 per dollar due to the Chinese fear of a major slowdown, which has been reiterated by the IMF forecast, coupled with low crude oil prices which together portend to a major global economic slowdown.

With global equities falling sharply and oil also plunging below $30 a barrel, a 13-year low, most investors rushed to safer havens like the dollar and gold. The precious yellow metal was up 0.4% $1,091 an ounce in global markets.