The Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark Sensex plunged by over 600 points by noon on Friday on heavy selling by funds and investors in line with melting global markets amid worries over the
US economy and the European debt crisis. At 12.30 pm, Sensex was trading down 685.80 points or 3.88 per cent down at 17,007.38.
Blue-chips like Reliance Industries, TCS, Tata Steel and Infosys plunged into deep red on stock market as investors dumped stocks with significant export exposure after an overnight sell-off in the US market.
The US stock markets suffered its worst day on Thursday since the financial crisis in the fall of 2008. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 500 points, its ninth-steepest decline. For the day, the Dow closed down 512.76 points, at 11,383.68. It was the steepest point decline since Dec. 1, 2008.
The 30-share
Sensex, which had lost nearly 620 points in the previous three straight sessions, tanked another 466.78 points to trade at 17,226.40 points in the first few minutes of trade.
PERSPECTIVE |
Bloodbath in equity markets as Dow falls All the sectoral indices, led by realty, capital goods and banking, were in the negative zone with losses up to 3.73 per cent.
The wide-based National Stock Exchange Nifty index dipped below crucial 5,200 level by losing 147.30 points to trade at 5,184.50 points.
Brokers said sentiments on the domestic bourses remained extremely bearish after Asian stock markets plummets by nearly 5 per cent following overnight losses on the US market on fears the American economy is sliding back toward recession.
In addition, rising
food inflation and fears of hike in interest rates were dampening factor, they said.
Bucking the trend, stocks of state-run oil marketing companies were trading in positive zone as fall in global crude oil prices would reduce their subsidy burden.
In the Asian region, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 4.81 per cent, while Japan's Nikkei lost 3.36 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average in the US ended 4.31 per cent lower on Thursday, its worst one-day drop since December 2008.
With agency inputs
Special 
