Sensex plunges over 148 points; Nifty dips below 7,200

The benchmark BSE Sensex plunged over 148 points while the NSE Nifty dipped below the 7,200-mark in early trade on Thursday on sustained selling by funds and retail investors amid weak Asian cues.

The 30-share index was trading down by 148.20 points or 0.62 % at 23,610.70 with all sectoral indices led by metal, capital goods, banking and realty leading the fall.  At 1002 hours, the index was trading down 169.48 points or 0.71% at 23,589.42 intraday on the BSE. The Sensex had lost 858 points in the previous three days.

Similarly, the National Stock Exchange (NSE) Nifty dropped below 7,200-mark by falling 29.50 points or 0.40% to 7,186.20.

Brokers said persistent selling by participants, tracking a weak trend at Asian markets where Hong Kong stocks plunged 4% to three-year low on Thursday, leading another sell-off across Asian markets and extending a global rout. Furthermore, depreciating rupee against the dollar also negatively impacted sentiment, they said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng slumped 4.2% in early trade on Thursday. However, financial markets in China and Japan are closed on Thursday for public holidays.

The US Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.62% lower on Wednesday.