Sensex falls below 25K-mark; crashes 308 points to 15-month low

Mumbai: The China nightmare and lingering worries over monsoon tormented markets today when the benchmark BSE Sensex closed below the 25,000-mark for the first time in 15 months, losing 308 points in a day.

At 24,893.81, this is the lowest closing in 15 months for the Sensex, which has lost almost all the gains since the relief rally from May 26, 2014, when Narendra Modi was sworn in as the Prime Minister.



The Nifty too couldn't take the selling pressure and cracked below the 7,600-mark, sinking to the lowest in 13 months.

Throughout the day, Shanghai stocks see-sawed in and out of volatility following an extended weekend break as China lowered its GDP growth to 7.3 percent, from the previous 7.4 percent.

The world's second-largest economy also saw its forex reserves in August record the largest monthly fall -- $93.9 billion - at $3.55 trillion.

The woes of rupee added to the market downfall, with the currency cooling against the dollar before settling at 66.82.

Also read: Rupee tumbles to fresh 2-year low of 66.82 against US dollar

The dismal show is aggravated by monsoon worries as there were reports that the Indian Meteorological Department now expects rains to be 82 percent of the long-term average (LTA), as against its earlier forecast of 88 percent.

However, after trading hours, the department clarified that that there won't be any revision in the LTA figure.

The 30-share index showed strength in the beginning, climbing to a high of 25,387.32, but lost confidence due to profit-booking. It slipped to end lower by 308.09 points, or 1.22 percent, at 24,893.81 -- its lowest close since June 4, 2014.

The broader NSE Nifty ended the day below the psychological 7,600-mark tumbling 96.25 points, or 1.26 percent at 7,558.80, the lowest level since July 15, 2014 when it had closed at 7,526.65.

Also read:LIC taking advantage of market fall, buying stocks: Chairman

"Markets are increasingly getting concerned about the slowdown in the Chinese economy and we believe that the sell-off in the domestic markets will continue until China stabilises or clarity emerges on US interest rates," said Vijay Singhania, Founder-Director, Trade Smart Online, a leading brokerage firm.

Axis Bank led the fall show (3.90 percent) while others such as Vedanta, ICICI Bank, Hindalco, Lupin and BHEL lost big time too.

Sector-wise, BSE healthcare fell most by 2.57 percent, followed by metal, banking, power and capital goods.

In broader markets, mid-cap index tumbled 2.19 percent while small-cap ended 1.76 percent lower.

Shanghai stocks ended 2.52 percent down and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.23 percent. But Japan's Nikkei ended 0.38 percent higher.

European markets showed promise in the opening trade as they ruled firm.

The impact of the sell-off was so heavy that 26 stocks in the Sensex pack turned red.

The market breadth remained negative as 1,988 stocks ended lower and 688 turned green while 98 ruled steady.

The total turnover dropped to nearly Rs 2,042 crore, from Rs 2,689.66 crore last Friday.

"Global sentiment has taken a big precedence over domestic factors. It?s time for investors to keep their seat belts on until this uncertainty in global markets settles down. Next two weeks, there's a lot of potential market-moving news, including the possibility of a US interest rate hike," added Singhania.