Markets plunge further as Arun Jaitley wishes to opt out of Cabinet in letter to PM

New Delhi: Markets plunge further in the late afternoon trade as former finance minister Arun Jaitley wrote a letter to Prime Minister Modi, expressing his wish to opt out of Cabinet of the new government.

The BSE Sensex fell 142.25 or 0.36 percent to 39,607.48 at 2.03 pm while the NSE Nifty dropped 39.55 points or 0.33 percent to 11,889.20.

After logging a three-straight day of closing highs, markets opened in the negative zone on Wednesday. In the previous session on Tuesday, the BSE gauge closed 66.44 points, or 0.17 per cent, higher at 39,749.73 -- its all-time closing high; while the NSE benchmark Nifty logged a marginal rise of 4 points or 0.03 per cent to settle at 11,928.75 -- a new closing peak for the index.

FII sold equity worth Rs 501.11 crore on Tuesday, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) purchased shares to the tune of Rs 269.22 crore, provisional data available with stock exchanges showed.

Thanking PM Modi, Jaitley said that it was a great honour and a learning experience for him to have been a part of the government led by him. "It was a great honour and a learning experience for me to have been a part of the Government led by you for the past five years. Even earlier, the Party had blessed me with responsibilities in the first NDA Government, in the Party organisation and also while we were in the Opposition. I could not have asked for more," wrote the finance minister.

"During the last eighteen months, I have had some serious health challenges. My doctors have enabled me to emerge out of most of them. After the campaign had concluded and you were leaving for Kedarnath, I had orally informed you that even though I was able to discharge the responsibilities assigned to me during the campaign, I would in future, for some time, like to keep away from any responsibility. This will enable me to concentrate on my treatment and health," further wrote Jaitley.