Fresh worries over the European debt crisis continued to haunt the markets for the second straight session on Tuesday, with the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index, Sensex, slumping 164 points, as investors turned risk averse.
The BSE 30-share bellwether ended at 16617.10, down by 163.97 points, or 0.98 per cent. The index opened flat and stayed in a narrow range for the first-half of the day. However, it fell sharply in the second-half amid doubts over the sustainability of the global recovery after credit ratings agency Fitch warned that the U.K. faces a “formidable” fiscal challenge, brokers said.
The wider index Nifty of the National Stock Exchange went below the psychological level of 5000 and ended 0.93 per cent down at 4987.10.
Barring FMCG, all the sectoral indices on the BSE closed in the red, falling in range of 1-2.5 per cent. Realty, metal and oil & gas were the worst performers.
The BSE Oil & Gas index dropped 1.38 per cent to 9817.22, after Monday's meeting of ministerial panel failed to decide on freeing petrol and diesel prices from government control.
In the 30 BSE index components, 23 stocks closed with losses while seven advanced.
On the global front, China's Shanghai Composite rose 0.09 per cent and Japan's Nikkei 0.18 per cent. Europe was trading in the red, with Britain's FTSE plunging 1.34 per cent in mid-session. On Monday, U.S. markets were in the negative zone.
