Stocks trended down for the third day in a row as the BSE Sensex lost over 248 points today to end at 25,638.11 -- a two-week low -- 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.
Bharti Airtel, Coal India and Tata Steel gained though.
Sector-wise, the BSE power index bled the most by falling 1.78 per cent, followed by realty, FMCG, auto and banking.
The broader markets saw selling pressure too, with the BSE mid-cap index ending 1.05 per down and the small-cap easing 0.64 per cent.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 611.43 crore yesterday, as per provisional data released by stock exchanges.
While premier indices in China, Hong Kong, Japan,
Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan fell by up to 2.18 per cent at the close, those in France, Germany and the UK moved down by up to 0.39 per cent in early session.
"With few rhetorics now being heard from Parliament on the GST front, Indian markets have been looking for cues to remain on an uptrend. Sentiment has also been affected, with Chennai floods crippling several businesses including brokerages," said Anand James, Co Head Technical Research Desk, Geojit BNP Paribas.
The market breadth continued to remain negative as 1,567 ended lower, 1,177 closed higher while 168 ruled steady.
The total turnover slumped to Rs 2,989.76 crore, from Rs 3,096.30 crore yesterday.
