Markets bleed profusely; Sensex crashes nearly 800 points, Nifty drops 281 points

New Delhi: Stock markets continue to bleed profusely on the third day by ending at the lowest level since April this year after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) changed its policy stance and kept key benchmark lending rates intact.

Apart from the policy decision, the free-fall in the Indian rupee`s value to over 74 a US dollar eroded investors sentiments.

Both Sensex and Nifty posted above 2 percentage drop in closing trade. The BSE Sensex fell 792.17 points or 2.25 percent at 34,376.99. In a similar fashion the NSE Nifty slipped below 10,400 mark by cracking 282.80 points or 2.67 percent at10,316.45. Intra-day, it hit a low of 10,261.90 soon after RBI's policy announcement.

The 30-share index remained in the negative zone through the session. Selling activity gathered momentum after the RBI kept rates unchanged but changed its stance to "calibrated tightening".

The gauge had lost 1,356.98 points in the previous two sessions on rupee woes and boiling crude oil prices.

Stocks of Oil Marketing companies tanked 16 percent each, a day after the government announced fuel price cut. The government Thursday announced a Rs 2.50 per litre cut in petrol and diesel prices after it reduced excise duty by Rs 1.50 a litre and asked oil companies to absorb another Re 1.

With PTI Inputs