Rally comes to a screeching halt; Sensex dives 2%, Nifty ends below 11,400

The rally in indices came to an abrupt halt on Monday, with a combination of factors giving the Street a rude shock. The new margin framework for retail investors, skirmishes in the Indo-Chinese border, and anticipated weak GDP numbers together took the indices downhill.

The Sensex closed at 38,628.3, a drop of 839 points or 2.13 per cent —the most since May 18. The Nifty fell 260 points or 2.23 per cent, to end at 11,387.5. On Friday, the indices had touched their highest level since February 27, following six straight sessions of gains.

Further, the Nifty Midcap 100 and