Sensex continued to fall for the third consecutive day on Friday losing over 248 points to end at 25,638.11 amid an intense global sell-off after the ECB stimulus fell short of the crease.
As part of its efforts to revive the euro economy, the European Central Bank cut its deposit rate deeper into the negative territory and extended its bond-buying programme by six months. But many market players felt that was just not enough.
The rupee clouded the picture as it faltered again and fell to 66.68, an over two-year low, which along with capital outflows made investors more anxious.
The 30-share Sensex started on a weak note and continued to slide before closing down by 248.11 points, or 0.96 per cent, at 25,638.11 -- a level last seen on November 18.
It has now lost 531.30 points in the last three days. The broader NSE Nifty cracked below yet another crucial 7,800-mark by falling 82.25 points, or 1.05 per cent, to close at 7,781.90. It moved between 7,775.70 and 7,821.40 intra-day.
For the week, the Sensex and the Nifty were down 490.09 points, or 1.87 per cent, and 160.80 points, or 2.02 per cent, respectively.
“Weak global cues on account of status quo from ECB indicating that it would not pump more new money has dampened sentiment globally. Continued selling of foreign investors form emerging markets, including India, and a weak rupee have shaken confidence,” said Gaurav Jain, Director, Hem Securities.
Globally, Asia and Europe turned lower after the ECB package underwhelmed investors.
HDFC and M&M tanked the most, down 2.42 per cent each. Of the 30-share Sensex components, 26 ended in the red. NTPC, ITC, ICICI Bank, Tata Motors and RIl too lost. However, Sun Pharma was a bright spot, which soared 4.02 per cent after one of its subsidiaries got USFDA approval to manufacture and market generic version of Novartis’ Gleevec.