Sensex crashes 800 pts to crack 23,000-level

Mumbai: Market benchmark Sensex crashed below 23,000-level in pre-close session after nosediving over 800 points while the NSE Nifty broke 7,000-mark on massive sell-off in banks and persistent foreign fund outflows.

The benchmark BSE Sensex slumped by over 800 points or 3.45 per cent to 22,950.90. The Nifty crashed 232.30 points or 3.21 per cent to 6,983.40.

Barring Cipla, all the stocks from the 30-share Sensex traded down. Besides, all the sectoral indexes led by realty, bank, metal and power were lower by up to 6.24 per cent.

PSU bank index reporting steep losses along with selling pressure, the market went spiraling downwards for the first time since May 9, 2014.

Brokers said persistent selling by participants, tracking a weak trend at Asian markets where Hong Kong stocks plunged 5 per cent to three-year low on Thursday, leading another sell-off across Asian markets and extending a global rout.

Furthermore, depreciating rupee against the dollar also negatively impacted sentiment, they said. European markets were also lower in their early trend.

PTI