Zee Media Bureau
The BSE Sensex nosedived by 855 points in one of its worst falls to close at 26,987.46 and the NSE Nifty dipped below the 8,200-mark by falling 251.05 points Tuesday amid overnight losses in US markets, global slump in oil prices and Greek political crisis.
After falling over 588 points in opening trade due to heavy selling by funds and investors, the Sensex continued to slide as selling pressure gathered momentum and tumbled by 854.86 points or 3.07 percent to end at 26,987.46 after moving in range of 26,937.06 - 27,698.93.
The 30-share index had lost over 45 points in the previous session.
Similarly, the National Stock Exchange index Nifty dipped below the 8,200-mark by plunging 251.05 points or 3 percent to 8,127.35 after hitting an intra-day low of 8,111.35.
Blue-chips led losses as global shares sank on the back of a continued slide in oil prices that is raising concerns about the health of the global economy. ICICI Bank lost 4.2 percent, State Bank of India fell 4.1 percent while Infosys fell 2.1 percent.
Oil explorers declined, tracking the fall in US crude oil prices. Reliance Industries fell 4.5 percent, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp slumped 5.7 percent.
Brokers said sentiments were dampened due to a global sell-off with fears sparked by the slump in oil prices and the Greek political crisis.
The euro sat near nine-year low as the uncertainty in Greece raised the prospect that it could leave the Eurozone, they said.
Meanwhile, foreign portfolio investors bought shares worth a net Rs 472 crore yesterday, as per provisional data.
Among other Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down by 0.9 percent, while Japan's Nikkei plunged 3.02 percent. European markets were also down in their opening trade.
With agency inputs
