Mumbai, August 3: Slumping for the fourth straight session, equity benchmark Sensex Monday plunged 667 points, following a sell-off on index-heavyweights Reliance Industries, HDFC twins and Kotak Bank as soaring COVID-19 cases kept investors jittery.
The rupee too sank 20 paise and settled below the 75 per the US dollar mark.
The BSE Sensex ended 667.29 points or 1.77 per cent lower at 36,939.60, while the NSE Nifty tumbled 181.85 points or 1.64 per cent to 10,891.60 level.
Kotak Bank was the top loser in the Sensex pack, falling over four per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Axis Bank, ONGC, HDFC Bank, Bajaj Auto and Reliance Industries (RIL).
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On the other hand, Titan, Tata Steel, HCL Tech, L&T and SBI were among the gainers.
According to traders, massive selling in index majors RIL and HDFC duo dragged the key indices lower.
Further, foreign fund outflows and concerns over rise in COVID-19 cases across the world kept investors on edge, they added.
The number of cases from around the world linked to COVID-19 has crossed 1.8 crore, while the infection count in India has crossed 18 lakh.
However, bourses in Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul settled on a positive note, while Hong Kong ended in the red.
Stock exchanges in Europe were also trading on a positive note in early deals.
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Meanwhile, global oil benchmark Brent crude was trading 0.69 per cent lower at US dollar 43.22 per barrel.
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