Closing Bell: Sensex tanks 418 points to close at 36,700, Nifty also drops by 135 points

Equity benchmark BSE Sensex tanked over 418 points to close at 36,699.84 on Monday due to intense selling in banking, finance and metal stocks amid weak global cues and political uncertainty over the Kashmir issue.

After cracking over 700 points in day trade, the 30-share index pared losses to close at 36,699.84, still down by 418.38 points, or 1.13 per cent. It hit a low of 36,416.79 and a high of 36,844.05.

The 50-share Nifty plunged by 134.75 points or 1.23 per cent to close at 10,862.60 points as 38 of its constituents declined.

The government on Monday abolished Article 370 that gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir and moved a separate bill to bifurcate the state into two separate union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, amid massive opposition uproar in Rajya Sabha.

In the previous session, the 30-share BSE Sensex rose 99.90 points or 0.27 per cent to settle at 37,118.22. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty gained 17.35 points or 0.16 per cent to end at 10,997.35.

On a net basis, foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 2,888.06 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed on Friday.

Equities on Wall Street too ended on a negative note on Friday last week. Meanwhile, the rupee depreciated by 86 paise to 70.46 against the US dollar (intra-day). The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 1.18 per cent lower at 61.16 per barrel.

The rupee declined sharply by 90 paise to 70.50 in afternoon trade following jitters in the global currency markets. The Chinese yuan slipped to 7.03 level against the US dollar, which investors consider as a key threshold, amid reports that Beijing was devaluing its currency to support exporters, and neutralise US President Donald Trump’s decision to impose fresh 10 per cent tariffs on USD 300 billion in Chinese goods.

Elsewhere in Asia, Shanghai Composite Index, Hang Seng, Nikkei and Kospi declined on Monday, following intensifying trade war between the US and China and a sharp fall in yuan.

The global oil benchmark Brent crude futures were trading 0.74 per cent lower at 61.43 per barrel.

(With inputs from PTI)