Sensex plummets 378 points to end at 23,410; Nifty cracks below 7,200-mark

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: The BSE Sensex on Tuesday plummeted 378.61 points to end at 23,410.18 while the NSE Nifty cracked below 7,200-mark by tumbling 125 points to 7,109.55.

Brokers said that apart from profit-booking in recent gainers, a weak Asian trend after the crude oil rally fizzled out influenced sentiment.

In the Asian market, share rally stalled with markets battling a fresh fall in the price of oil and renewed fears over the Chinese economy.

Japanese stocks fell as a stronger yen hit exporters while Shanghai also dropped, after private indicators showed confidence in the manufacturing and service sectors falling to new lows.

US crude for April fell 2.58 percent while Brent for April was down 2.48 percent, as traders remained doubtful that talks on an output freeze among key crude producers would bear fruit.

US inventories probably expanded further from their highest levels in more than eight decades.