Published On : Thu, Jan 7th, 2016

Sensex cracks below 25,000-mark on Chinese woes, tumbles over 450 points

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Mumbai/Nagpur: For the fourth day on the trot, turbulence in the Chinese market sent global investors, including those on the Dalal Street, scurrying for cover.

On Thursday morning as the CSI 300 index in Shanghai tanked 7% and the authorities there halted trading for the day, the Sensex lost over 400 points and slipped below the psychologically important 25,000-mark.

This was the second 7% fall in the benchmark index for the Chinese stock market this week, which was on the back of signs of further economic weakness in the world’s second largest economy.

In India, the Sensex has lost over 1,000 points since its New Year day closing at 26,161.

The slide in the domestic market was led by ONGC, Tata Motors, Maruti and Tata Steel,

The broader Nifty also slipped below the 7,700 level on across-the-board selling.

In addition, weakness in the rupee against the American currency too weighed on the sentiment.

China’s central bank again surprised markets by setting onshore yuan’s value lower to the US dollar, sending the domestic stock markets tumbling.

Persistent foreign capital outflows also affected the market sentiment. Foreign investors sold shares worth Rs 242.48 crores on Wednesday as per provisional data.

All the sectoral indices led by metal, capital goods and auto were trading in the negative zone with losses up to 3.12 per cent.

Brokers said sentiment remained weak as investors indulged in offloading positions, tracking a weak trend overseas on a slew of negative factors, including crude oil slumping to multi-year lows.

In other Asian markets, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down 3.05 per cent while Japan’s Nikkei shed 1.78 per cent in early trade on Thursday.

(With inputs from agencies)