Sensex plummets 605 points on Brexit tremors; Tata Motors plunges 7.99%

Mumbai: After crashing over 1,090 points in early trade on free-fall in global equities following Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, the S&P BSE Sensex recovered slightly to close 2.24%, or 604.51 points, lower at 26,397.71, on value-buying in key bluechip stocks.

Besides, the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) intervention to infuse liquidity into the system, and dollar selling helped the rupee and Sensex to recover from their intraday lows.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 23 stocks closed in the negative zone. Intraday, the Sensex had tumbled 1,090.89 points, while the Nifty 50 had fallen below the 8,000-mark as investors indulged in all-round selling, tracking the meltdown in global equities after Britain voted to exit the European Union.

The rupee hit an intraday low of 68.22 against the US dollar on foreign fund outflows, but RBI’s intervention to infuse liquidity into the system and selling of the American currency helped the rupee pull back to 67.78 (intra-day) against the dollar.

All the sectoral indices closed in the red, falling by up to 3.59%.

After resuming lower at 26,367.48 the Sensex continued its slide to crack below the 26,000-mark and hit a low of 25,911.33, before closing 2.24%, or 604.51 points, lower at 26,397.71.

Shares of companies having large exposure to the UK, led by Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Bharat Forge, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services, Hindalco Industries and Tech Mahindra posted heavy losses. Tata Motors registered a fall of 7.99%, leading losses among Sensex stocks.

The broad-based NSE Nifty which dipped below the 8,000-mark to touch a low of 7,927.05 in intraday trade, closed 2.20%, or 181.85 points, lower at 8,088.60.

Global markets went into a tizzy with Japan’s Nikkei tumbling 7.92% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng falling 2.92% . European stocks too opened on a negative note with London Stock Exchange’s FTSE index down 5% after crashing 9%.

Futures also showed that Wall Street will likely open with massive losses.

Bombay Stock Exchange - BSE