MUMBAI: The benchmark BSE Sensex tanked by over 538 points in one of its worst falls in over three months to 25,622.87, tracking global sell-off amid concerns over slowdown in China and escalating tension in the Middle East.

In addition, India's manufacturing sector output shrinking to a 28-month low in December and fresh weakness in the rupee, accelerated selling activity.

Markets scaled higher on the last day of December derivatives series due to strength in energy and index heavyweight shares such as HDFC and Infosys.

The S&P BSE Sensex ended higher 158 points at 26,118 and Nifty50 ended up 50 points at 7,946.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty snapped a two-day winning streak on Wednesday on the back of unwinding of long positions ahead of the derivatives expiry, coupled with profit bookings. Sensex closed 119.45 points down at 25960.03, while Nifty settled 32.70 points down at 7,896.25.

Depreciation in Indian rupee too dampened sentiments. The rupee was trading lower by 4 paise to 66.43 against the dollar at the time of equity markets closing at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market on increased month-end demand for the US currency from importers.

Markets have turned range bound in the morning trades amid absence of any fresh triggers as traders maintained a cautious stance ahead of the expiry of December F&O contracts.

At 11:45am, benchmark indices were showing a divergent trend with S&P BSE Sensex up 13 points at 26,048 and Nifty50 down 6 points at 7,918.

Markets are trading higher in line with their global peers following a modest recovery in global crude oil prices. Further, the contraction in CAD in the September quarter bolstered the sentiments at the D-Street.

At 12:50 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex has climbed 244 261 points to trade at 25,835 after hitting an intra-day high of 25,863 and the NIfty50 has surged 72 points to quote at 7,858 after touching an intra-day high of 7,865.

Mumbai: Indian stocks advanced, with the benchmark gauge rebounding from its biggest loss in a month, as lenders and metal producers climbed.

ICICI Bank Ltd, the country’s biggest private lender, climbed to a two-week high. The stock was the best performer on the S&P BSE Bankex, which jumped 1.4%. Tata Steel Ltd rallied to a four-month high, while Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC), the largest state-owned explorer, increased to its highest price in nearly three weeks.

Indian key stock indices failed to hold the US Fed cheer on Friday and ended a percentage point lower. The Union government's mid-year economic review, which revised the gross domestic product (GDP) growth estimate from the earlier 8-8.1 per cent to 7-7.5 per cent weakened the sentiment.

The BSE's benchmark 30-share Sensex lost 284 points to close at 25,519.22. The National Stock Exchange's Nifty 50 closed at 7,761, down 82 points. Stocks in information technology (IT), pharmaceuticals, banks and metals dragged down the indices. The market breadth was weak, as out of the 50 shares in the Nifty, 40 closed in the red.

Indian markets are expected to see a cautious opening today mirroring weakness in the Asian peers. The early indicator SGX Nifty is trading 0.6% lower.

Despite a strong rally on Thursday, a slump in the US stocks overnight on concerns of a further fall in the global crude prices could weigh on the sentiment.

After a gap up opening, markets have erased their early gains on account of profit booking. The selling pressure on the index heavyweights such as Tata Motors, Axis Bank, ITC has dragged the markets lower.

At 11:30 am, the S&P BSE Sensex was down by 5 points at 25,488 and the Nifty50 gained 4 points at 7,754.

The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty are likely to open on a cautious note on Tuesday tracking mixed Asian markets ahead of US Federal Reserve meet.

Asian markets were mixed on Tuesday, as investors were reluctant to make any big moves amid volatile crude oil and before a widely anticipated US interest rate increase by the Federal Reserve later this week. Hang Seng and Shanghai were up 0.46 per cent and 0.14 per cent, while Nikkei were down 0.73 per cent in the morning trade.

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