Published On : Wed, Jan 20th, 2016

Sensex tumbles below 24,000-mark for the first time since May 2014, rupee at two-year low

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New Delhi/Nagpur: Sensex on Wednesday tumbled below the 24,000-mark for the first time since May 16, 2014, by plunging 482 points to 23,998.65. The slide coincided with the rupee falling to a more than two-year low on Wednesday, inching closer to a record low of 68.85 hit in August 2013, as a continued fall in global oil prices raised concerns about the global economy.

In a quarterly update to its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund said the global economy will expand 3.4 per cent in 2016, down from an earlier estimated 3.6 per cent in October. It also trimmed its forecast for growth in 2017 to 3.6 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent three months ago.

However, the IMF retained India’s growth outlook at 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal and 7.5 per cent in the next two even as it lowered the world projection on slumping oil and commodity prices.

The BSE Sensex opened lower at 24,325.77 on Wednesday and slid to 24,025.11, it was quoting 24,107.75 at 1100 hours, down 372.09 points or 1.52 per cent. The NSE Nifty was also trading below the key 7,400 mark, down 113.70 points or 1.53 per cent to 7,321.40.

The rupee too fell to 68 per dollar, its weakest level since Sept. 4, 2013, but pulled back as state-owned banks were spotted selling dollars likely on behalf of the Reserve Bank of India, three dealers told Reuters.

The rupee had hit a record low of 68.85 in August 2013, when the country was in the midst of its worst currency turmoil since the balance of payment crisis.