Mumbai, Dec 21 (IANS): Sustained weakness in global markets due to the US Fed rate hike along with profit booking after seven straight sessions of gains sent the Sensex plunging over 550 points on Friday.
At 2.19 p.m., the S&P BSE traded 555.57 points or 1.52 per cent lower at 35,876.10 after touching an intra day high of 36,483.49 and a low of 35,871.34.
The NSE Nifty too, slipped 168.95 points down or 1.54 per cent at 10,782.75.
All the 19 sectors on BSE traded in red led by heavy selling in finance and banking stocks.
The Indian rupee lost some ground against the US dollar on Friday as it traded at Rs 70.19 from its previous close of 69.70. The decline in the rupee came after it made significant appreciation in the past few sessions.
Stock-wise, except for Tata Motors, NTPC and Coal India, all the stocks on Sensex traded lower.