Sensex closes 200 points lower after tumbling early in the day, Rupee remains flat

After tumbling at the start of the day, Sensex has closed in the red down 200 to stay near the 58,000 mark, while Nifty fell below 17,250 for a negative end to the day. The market sentiment remained gloomy over more aggressive rate hikes for US on the cards, after the country posted a strong job data.

Driven by rising food prices, retail inflation in India stayed above RBI’s tolerance level of 6 per cent for the ninth straight month, by hitting 7.3 per cent for September. Automobile stocks dragged down Indian indices, while corporate and IT shares are expected to drive markets forward.

After dropping to another record of 82.67 earlier in the day, the Rupee closed at 82.32, which is the same as the previous close, hence remaining flat.

Asian markets remained bogged down over US Fed’s persistent aggressive stance on rate hikes, while investors stayed away from risky stocks during the day. Russia’s strikes on more Ukranian cities also added to the uncertainty by causing geopolitical tension.