Mumbai : Equities continued their fall for the third straight day as global meltdown fears remained unabated, with the benchmark Sensex tumbling over 316 points at 24,223.32– its lowest level in two weeks.
Indian markets felt the heat from global equities rout after a sharp dive in oil prices over the past two days shattered investor confidence and revived fears of a global recession, triggering frantic unwinding. The depreciating rupee, which again breached the 68-barrier against the dollar also dented sentiments. After a gap-down start, key indices kept on descending following heavy unwinding from domestic players and investors, tracking correction in global peers amid a plunge in crude oil prices below USD 30 a barrel in Asian trade.
“The continuing volatility in crude price has dragged the benchmark indices for the third day. The rising uncertainty in global market is influencing investors to pull out funds from emerging markets,” said Vinod Nair, Head-Fundamental Research, Geojit BNP Paribas Financial Services Ltd.
The investor sentiment was so badly hit that even better monthly PMI data, which showed that India’s services activity rose to a 19-month high of 54.3 in January from 53.6 in December, failed to stem the slide.
Elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei led the fall, dropping 3.36 per cent, followed by Hang Seng (2.34 per cent), Kopsi (0.84 per cent) and Shanghai (0.35 per cent). The 50-share Nifty resumed sharply lower at 7,392.45 and fluctuated between 7,419.40 and 7,350.30 before concluding at 7,361.80, a steep loss of 93.75 points, or 1.26 per cent.
