Sensex, nifty each down 2% on global mkt weakness

MUMBAI: Across the board selling because of weak global cues pulled the sensex down by about 600 points and nifty over 150-200 points in early trade on Tuesday. Most of the major Asian markets were deep in the red after the US markets witnessed one of the worst sell-off in three months. On Monday S&P 500 closed 1.8% (38 points) lower while the Dow Jones index closed 1.9% (331 points) lower.
At 10.20am, sensex was down 577 points at 27,265 while nifty was down 167 points at 8,211.
One of the main reasons for the sell-off in the US market was the dipping oil prices which has the potential to stretch the finances of global oil majors, several of which are based in the US. The weakness in the Eurozone also unnerved investors on Dalal Street and led to Tuesday’s sell-off early in the session, market players said. In Asia, while Nikkei in Japan was down 2.9%, Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 1.5%.
Among the major sensex laggards were Tata Motors, down 3.5% while Sesa Sterlite was trading 3% lower at ONGC was down 2.8%. Banks were also among the major laggards. The lone gainer among the 30 sensex stocks was HUL, the leader in the FMCG pack, which was up 0.5%.