Bloodbath continues: Nifty struggles below 8K; GAIL down 7%

Moneycontrol Bureau12:35 pm Europe Update: European markets have opened sharply lower following rout in Asia. France's CAC and Germany's DAX dropped over 3 percent. Britain's FTSE slipped 2.5 percent.Brent crude declined 2.5 percent to USD 44.32 a barrel and NYMEX crude dipped 3.4 percent to USD 39.07 a barrel.12:20 pm Market Expert: India is on a much better footing than it was in 2008, as far as macro economic indicators like current account deficit and forex reserves go, says Nirmal Jain, Chairman and Managing Director IIFL.He tells CNBC-TV18 that right now global investors are panicking and redeeming their investments in emerging markets, including those in India.So the market could drift lower, he says, but cautions investors against selling out in this panic or buying afresh in a hurry.India's economy will benefit from lower commodity prices, particularly lower crude prices and so investors should not panic, Jain says.Another positive for the Indian market right now is the strong fund flows into domestic mutual funds. But he says that if the downtrend persists, fund flows into mutual funds could shrink.Also read - Stock market wealth crashes below Rs 100-trillion mark12:00 pm Market Check

The market saw biggest ever fall in a single day in 2015, dragged by nervousness across the globe on likely slowdown in Chinese economy. The Sensex crashed 1,045.26 points or 3.82 percent to 26320.81 and the Nifty slipped 322.15 points or 3.88 percent to 7977.80.

Dipen Shah, Head of Private Client Group Research, Kotak Securities said global risk off trade has impacted Indian equity markets also.

India, however, derives some positives from the current global meltdown, he added. "Brent crude, at USD 44 per barrel, will ease the current account deficit further, which will also have a positive impact on inflation. This will be a serious positive for several Indian companies. The rupee depreciation will also be positive for exporting sectors and companies, especially the ones which have large exports to US," he reasoned.

The BSE Midcap plunged 4 percent and Smallcap lost 4.8 percent. About 280 shares have advanced, 2140 shares declined, and 45 shares are unchanged on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

GAIL, BHEL, ONGC, Tata Steel, Vedanta and YES Bank topped the selling list on Sensex, down 5-7 percent.

All sectoral indices continued to be in the red. Bank Nifty plummeted almost 5 percent.

The rupee slumped to a fresh 2-year low, below the 66 mark, down 65 paise to 66.45 a dollar as Asian markets reeled under fears of a China-led global economic slowdown.

The China rout accelerated, leading Asia sell-off.. Markets hit multi-year lows. Shanghai index dropped 7.8 percent even as authorities allowed pension funds managed by local governments to invest in the stock market for the first time.