The S&P BSE benchmark Sensex plunges further by 473 points in the late morning trade on persistent selling pressure, triggered by sharp fall in the rupee value against the dollar coupled with sustained capital outflows by foreign funds.
Shares of Banking, Refinery, PSU, Realty, Captial Goods, FMCG, Power, Auto and Metal declined on heavy selling.
The rupee hitting a record low of 68.75 against the dollar in the early trade dampened sentiment.
The Sensex resumed lower at 17,851.44 and dropped further to a low of 17,448.71 before quoting at 17,494.80 at 1040 hrs, showing a loss of 473.28 points or 2.63 per cent from its last close.
The NSE 50-share Nifty also tumbled by 144.15 points or 2.73 per cent to 5,143.30 at 1040 hrs.
Major losers were ONGC (8.08 pc), HDFC (6.36 pc), M&M (5.48 pc), HDFC Bank (4.69 pc), BHEL (4.46 pc), Icici Bank (4.46 pc) and Bharti Airtel (4.32 pc).
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) sold shares worth a net Rs 1373.99 crore yesterday as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.
Asian stocks dropped for a second day today on concerns the US will take military action against Syria. Key benchmark indices in Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, South Korea and Japan fell by 0.24 per cent to 2.32 per cent while Taiwan's stock market rose 0.06 per cent.
US stocks also fell yesterday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average ending at a two-month low, as unease over possible US action against Syria shook global markets.
