Mumbai :The benchmark BSE Sensex plunged over 148 points while the NSE Nifty dipped below the 7,200-mark in early trade today on sustained selling by funds and retail investors amid weak Asian cues.
The 30-share index was trading down by 148.20 points or 0.62 per cent at 23,610.70 with all sectoral indices led by metal, capital goods, banking and realty leading the fall.
The Sensex had lost 858 points in the previous three days.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange Nifty dropped below 7,200 mark by falling 29.50 points or 0.40 per cent to 7,186.20.
Brokers said persistent selling by participants, tracking a weak trend at Asian markets where Hong Kong stocks plunged 4 per cent to three-year low today, leading another sell-off across Asian markets and extending a global rout.
Furthermore, depreciating rupee against the dollar also negatively impacted sentiment, they said.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slumped 4.2 per cent in early trade today. However, financial markets in China and Japan are closed today for public holidays.
The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.62 per cent lower yesterday.
The rupee lost 8 paise to 67.93 against the US dollar in early trade today at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market due to increased demand for the American unit from importers and banks amid a lower opening in the domestic equity market.
Moreover, sustained capital outflows also weighed on the domestic unit but dollar’s weakness against some currencies overseas limited the rupee’s fall, forex dealers said.
On Wednesday, the rupee had gained 5 paise to 67.85 on persistent selling of dollars by banks and exporters in view of weaker American currency in the overseas market despite fall in domestic equities.
Meanwhile, the benchmark BSE Sensex fell by 148.20 points or 0.62 per cent to 23,610.20 in early trade.
PTI