Sensex tanks over 570 points, Rs 2.28 lakh crore eroded from investors' wealth

New Delhi: Markets cracked for the third consecutive session Thursday on leaving the investors poorer by over Rs 2.28 lakh crore.

Broadly negative global cues, weak rupee and sustained selling by foreign as well as domestic institutional investors weighed on the market sentiments.

The BSE Sensex plunged 572.28 points, or 1.59 percent, to close at 35,312.13. Similarly, the broader NSE Nifty fell 181.75 points, or 1.69 percent, to 10,601.15.

Led by the sharp fall in equities, the market capitalisation of BSE-listed companies slumped Rs 2,28,329.72 crore to Rs 1,39,86,824.95 at today's closing. The total market capitalisation of BSE listed companies stood at Rs 1,42,15,154.67 on December 5.

All sectoral indices on the BSE and NSE ended in the red, led by metal, oil and gas, pharma and financial stocks.

Top losers in the session included Maruti, Tata Motors, Reliance Industries, Yes Bank, Adani Ports, Bharti Airtel, Asian Paints, ONGC, HUL, Kotak Bank, IndusInd Bank and Axis Bank, falling up to 5 percent. Sun Pharma was the sole gainer on the Sensex, rising 1.57 percent.

On a net basis, foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) sold shares worth Rs 357.82 crore Wednesday, and domestic institutional investors (DIIs) were net sellers to the tune of Rs 791.59 crore, provisional data available with BSE showed.

With PTI Inputs