Mkt rout deepens: Rupee breaches 78/$ for 1st time, Sensex falls 1,456 pts

Fears of more aggressive rate hikes amid high inflation and their impact on economic growth accelerated the equity sell-off across the world on Monday, with the Sensex posting its biggest fall in more than three months and the US’ S&P 500 index sliding into bear territory.

The rupee also depreciated 0.25 per cent to settle at a fresh lifetime low of 78.04 against the US dollar on Monday, breaching the 78 mark for the first time. However, the Indian currency performed rather well compared to most Asian peers, which were hammered due to the hotter-than-expected US inflation data. The rupee hit