Nifty ends below 7250, Sensex at 21-month low; SBI tanks 5%

Moneycontrol Bureau

Dragged by global cues domestic market cracked for another day. The Nifty breached 7200 intraday before ending at 7215.70, down 82.50 points or 1.1 percent. The Sensex slipped 262.08 points or 1.1 percent at 23758.90. The 30-share index ended at its lowest level in 21-month.

Investors worldwide are keeping a close watch on Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's testimony in front of US lawmakers. Amid increasing concern over the global economy as well as market volatility, there has been doubts over the ability for the Fed to raise interest rates this year, according to analysts.

Japanese shares continued to tumble, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 372.05 points, or 2.31 percent, to close at 15,713.39, following a 5.4 percent decline on Tuesday, as banking and commodities stocks continued to get hammered.However, Rakesh Arora, MD and Head of Research at Macquarie Cap Securities says global sell-off has nothing much to do with India. While the world is declining, India is static, which is a much better scenario, he says. The fundamentals in India are good, he says adding that same thought is echoed even by the foreign institutional investors (FIIs).Banks were the worst hit as the bad loan fears are forcing investors to flee these stocks. The bank index was down nearly 2 percent.L&T, Coal India, Maruti, Reliance and Tata Steel were top gainers while Tata Motors, SBI, Hindalco, Cipla and Adani Ports were losers in the Sensex. About 638 shares have advanced, 2009 shares declined, and 110 shares are unchanged.