Sensex drops 224 points; Nifty dips below 8,600-mark

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The benchmark BSE Sensex dropped by over 224 points Thursday as investors booked profits a day before US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen`s speech that is expected to provide clues on outlook for US interest rates.

The 30-share index ended lower by 224.03 points at 27,835.91, posting its biggest fall in two weeks. The gauge had gained 74.40 points in the previous two sessions.

The NSE Nifty also fell 58.10 points to 8,592.20.

In Asia, Tokyo ended the morning 0.3 percent lower, Shanghai closed down 0.6 percent while Hong Kong ended marginally higher. Sydney gave up 0.4 percent, and Seoul closed marginally lower.

In early European trade London and Frankfurt lost 0.4 percent and Paris shed 0.5 percent.