Sensex falls below 33,000, sheds 253 points, Nifty below 10,100

Extending its decline for the fifth straight session on foreign fund outflows amid weak global cues on Monday, BSE Sensex fell below the 33,000-mark after falling nearly 253 points.

The market remained lack lustre after the RBI data released after market hours on Friday. The data showed that the current account deficit (CAD) rose to 2 per cent of the GDP in the December quarter, increasing from 1.4 per cent, due to a higher trade shortage.

The rupee also fell by 19 paisa against the dollar at 65.13, which too was affected by a negative market day.

BSE’s 30-share barometer opened higher at 33,268.97 and moved to 33,275.79 in the morning trade. It, however, settled to a low of 32,856.54. The 30-share index finally stopped at 252.88 points. This is the weakest closing since December 6, when it was at 32,597.18.

In the previous four sessions, the meter had lost 741.94 points.
 
The wider NSE Nifty also went south by 100.90 points to end at 10,094.25. It moved between 10,224.55 and 10,075.30 during the session.

Foreign institutional investors sold values worth Rs.150.46 crore on Friday, while domestic investors (DIIs) sold equities worth Rs.770 crore.