The BSE benchmark Sensex tumbled by 225 points in late morning trade today on persistent selling pressure in banking, capital goods, auto, PSU and realty sectors triggered by further depreciation of rupee against the dollar.
The rupee hit a record low of 62.45 per dollar in the late morning deals today.
Foreign capital outflows continued to affect the market sentiment. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 563.23 crore last Friday, as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
The BSE-30 share index Sensex resumed lower at 18,587.38 points and dropped further to a low of 18,303.20 before quoting 18,373.17 at 1040 hours.
It showed a loss of 225.01 points or 1.21 per cent from its last weekend's level.
The NSE 50-share barometer Nifty also fell by 86 points, or 1.56 per cent, to 5,421.85 at 1040 hours.
Major losers were - M&M (4.94 pc), Bajaj Auto (4.63 pc), ICICI Bank (3.74 pc), Bharti Airtel (3.62 pc), Hero Motocorp (3.12 pc) and L&T (2.11 pc).
Most Asian stocks fell for a third straight day as worries about the Federal Reserve's policy outlook and rising US Treasury yields weighed on sentiment.
Key benchmark indices in Hong Kong, China, South Korea and Taiwan were down by 0.08 to 3.79 per cent, while indices in Japan and Singapore rose by 0.02 to 0.35 per cent, respectively.
