BSE Sensex falls below 200-day moving average for first time since Nov 2016

Half of the BSE 500 companies have fallen more than 25% from their peaks

The Sensex on Monday dropped below the 200-day moving average (DMA) — a key technical support level — for the first time since November 2016. Further, 18 of the 30 scrips of the Sensex are currently trading below their 200-DMA, indicating a broad-based weakness. Volatility could also be on the rise as the VIX index has surged 25 per cent this year.

The current bout of selling in the market was started in early February. It was triggered by a global sell-off due to hardening of US bond yields. The Rs 129-billion fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB) further