Rupee again breaches 72-mark, down 81 paise in early trade

Mumbai: The benchmark BSE Sensex sank over 350 points in early trade Monday after two sessions of gains as investors cashed profits in consumer durables, banking, oil & gas and PSU stocks, amid fresh weakness in the rupee and weak global cues.

The BSE 30-share barometer dropped 366.52 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 37,724.12 driven by losses in index majors Axis Bank, SBI, Asian Paint, Tata Motors, HDFC and HDFC Bank. The gauge had rallied 677.51 points in the previous two sessions on sustained buying by domestic institutional investors.

The NSE Nifty index too dipped below the 11,500-mark by falling 111.80 points, or 0.97 per cent, at 11,403.40. Brokers said investors turned cautious and logged gains after recent rally, pulling down key indices.

Besides, weakness in the rupee and a negative trend in most other Asian markets amid reports that the US could announce a new round of tariffs on Chinese imports later in the day too weighed on the sentiments here, they added.

The rupee again crashed below the 72-mark by plunging 81 paise to 72.65 against the dollar, despite the government's steps to stem a steep fall in the currency.

Top laggards on Sensex were Axis Bank, Asian Paint, SBI, Tata Motors, HDFC, Bharti Airtel, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, NTPC, HUL, IndusInd Bank and RIL, falling up to 1.97 per cent. While, Wipro and Vedanta bucked market trend, and were trading in the green.

Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs 1,090.56 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) made purchases to the tune of Rs 115.14 crore on Friday, provisional data showed.

Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.87 per cent, while Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.06 per cent in their early deals. Financial markets in Japan are shut Monday for a public holiday.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended marginally higher by 0.03 per cent in Friday's trade.