Sensex falls 346 pt as oil rises, rupee drops

Mumbai: The Sensex on Monday dived about 346 points owing to an intense fag-end selling mainly in auto and energy stocks as fresh worries about weakening rupee and rising crude oil prices resurfaced. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell by 103 points to 10,482.20 points.

The benchmark Brent crude snapped its four-day losing streak and rose 2.09 per cent to $71.62 per barrel after Saudi Arabia, the world’s top crude exporter, said on Sunday that it will cut oil output from next month, as major producers held a key meeting to discuss shoring up sliding prices.

Further impacting  market sentiments, the rupee again breached the 73-mark, dropping 57 paise (intra-day) to 73.07 against the dollar.

Besides, a caution prevailed among investors ahead of key macro data — index of industrial production (IIP) for September and CPI inflation for October — to be released later in the day.

Mixed leads from most other Asian markets and a lower opening of european shares too fuelled the downtrend.

“Markets failed to hold the early gains and lost nearly a per cent, pressurised by weak global cues. Participants were in profit-taking mood from the beginning and mostly sectoral indices traded in tandem with the benchmark index. The decline was wide sp-read and broader market indices too ended with loss of nearly a percent each,” an analyst said.

The 30-share Sensex opened on a strong footing at 35,287.49 and advanced to scale a high of 35,333.22 in line with a firming trend at other Asian markets and fresh inflows of funds by foreign investors.

However, profit-booking by investors at better prices wiped out initial gains and the Sensex slipped to a low of 34,756 before settling 345 points, or 0.98 per cent, down at 34,812.99. Selling was  pronounced in auto, oil and gas, PSU and banking stocks which dragged the indices into the negative zone.