Despite P Chidambaram’s announcemant that more economic reforms are on the anvil, Sensex on Thursday slumped by 214 points to end below 19K-mark for the first time in nearly two months while rupee continued with its downward spiral and closed 19 paise lower at 57.98 against the dollar on weak stocks.
The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed lower due to weak Asian cues on the back of steep fall on Wall Street yesterday and remained in negative terrain throughout the day. It finally settled at 18,827.16, showing a fall of 213.97 points or 1.12 per cent. In straight three sessions, Sensex has fallen by 613.91 points or 3.16 per cent amid a weak rupee and hefty capital outflows. The index last closed below 19K-mark on April 17.
Nifty also dipped by 61.10 points, or 1.06 per cent, to end below 5,700-mark at 5,699.10. MCX-SX flagship index, SX40, ended 102.23 points lower at 11,179.36. As regards rupee fall, no concrete measures from Finance Minister and Fresh dollar demand from importers weighed heavy on rupee.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (Forex) market, rupee resumed sharply lower at 58.10 a dollar from previous close of 57.79. It dropped further to a low of 58.56 after hopes of major steps like NRI bond issuance by the government were not announced by Chidambaram in the press conference in New Delhi.