The BSE Sensex on Tuesday
closed below the 19,000-mark after five weeks, plunging 450 points on massive all-round selling as the
rupee hit record low of 61.80 against the US dollar.
Across market, investors became poorer by a whopping Rs 1.37 lakh crore as 7 of every 10 stocks fell.
Indian stock market has
dropped out of the trillion-dollar club with market capitalisation currently standing at Rs 60.2 lakh crore.
Brokers said the market remained under pressure as the rupee hit a record low of 61.80 against the dollar raising fears of higher inflation and increase of capital outflows.
They said the falling rupee also raised concerns about more monetary tightening measures which might hurt revenues of leading companies depending on imports.
After a lower start, the Sensex dropped 449.22 points, or 2.34 per cent to 18,733.04, its lowest level since June 27. The loss was the steepest since June 20 when Sensex plunged by over 526 points.
The National Stock Exchange Nifty tumbled 143.15 points, or 2.52 per cent, to 5,542.25, led by stocks of consumer durables, metals, banks and other interest-sensitive sectors.
SX40 index, the flagship index of MCX-SX, closed at 11,125.38, down 303.34 points, or 2.65 per cent.
In 30-BSE index components, 26 stocks fell and three gained while NTPC ended unchanged.
Major losers which dragged down the market were ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, Tata Power, Maruti Suzuki, Bajaj Auto, BHEL, HDFC Ltd, Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries, Infosys, Mahindra and Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki.
The consumer durables sector index suffered the most by losing 5.55 per cent followed by realty index (4.45 per cent).
Bank index fell by 3.90 per cent and metal index by 3.24 per cent.
Market sentiment dampened further as non-index stocks of Financial Technologies, the promoter of National Spot Exchange, tumbled 19.60 per cent to Rs 159.15, following reports that the government is likely to ban trading in e-series contracts on NSEL.
With inputs from PTI
Special 
