Indian equity benchmarks ended sharply lower on Monday,
with Sensex and Nifty over 1% at close amid weak global market trends and
continued foreign fund outflows. Indices made a negative start, as traders were
cautious as government data showed that the output of eight core infrastructure
sectors grew 3.3% in August, the lowest in nine months, as against 12.2% in the
year-ago period.

The Sensex plunged 638.11 points or 1.11% to settle at
56,788.81. During the day, it tanked 743.52 points or 1.29% to 56,683.40. The
Nifty fell by 207 points or 1.21% to end at 16,887.35.

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The broader indices were ended in red with the BSE Midcap
index down by 1.24% and the Small cap index down by 0.54%. The only gaining
sectoral indices on the BSE were Healthcare up by 0.81% and Telecom was up by
0.43% while, Power was down by 3.24%, Utilities down by 3.14%, Auto down by
2.11%, FMCG down by 2.05% and Bankex was down by 1.69% were the top losing
indices on BSE.

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Major laggards from the Sensex pack were Maruti Suzuki down
by 3.16%, Hindustan Unilever 2.77%, IndusInd Bank 2.55%, ITC 2.32%, Bajaj
Finance 2.26%, State Bank of India 2.15%, Kotak Mahindra 2.03%, Bajaj Finserv
1.94%, ICICI Bank 1.71% and Larsen and Toubro down by 1.59%.

Among the gainers were Dr Reddy’s Labs up by 1.99%, Bharti
Airtel 0.46%, NTPC 0.41%, and Wipro 0.05%.

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Indian rupee fell by 49 paise to close at 81.89 against the
US dollar as heavy selling pressure in the domestic equities and a spike in
crude oil prices weighed on the local unit.

In Asian markets, the Hang Seng ended 0.83% down and the
Nikkei 225 gained 1.07%.

European stock exchanges were trading lower in mid-session
deals after oil prices rose by more than $3 per barrel amid dire warnings over
energy shortages in Europe. The US equity markets ended in negative territory
on Friday.

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Sensex had surged 1,016.96 points or 1.80% to close at
57,426.92 on Friday. The Nifty jumped 276.25 points or 1.64% to settle at
17,094.35.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark jumped 3.90%
to $88.46 per barrel.

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According to stock exchange data, foreign institutional
investors sold shares worth Rs 1,565.31 crore on Friday. Foreign investors
turned sellers in September, pulling out Rs 7,600 crore from Indian equity
markets.