MUMBAI: Indian markets fell sharply on Thursday amid a crash in China stocks. The Sensex tumbled over 500 points to below 25,000 while Nifty breached 7,600 – their lowest level in over three weeks. The rupee also fell to inch towards 67/dollar.
1) Trading in China markets was suspended today much ahead of scheduled close after Shanghai shares tanked more than 7 per cent following a sharp fall in its currency yuan. This is the second time this week trading was suspended in China for the day.

2) The rupee fell to 66.95/dollar today, continuing its recent weakness amid a depreciation of the Chinese yuan. The rupee had closed at 66.82 on Wednesday.

3) The selling pressure in Indian markets was broad-based today with just two stocks out of the Nifty 50 basket trading higher. Anil Manghnani, director of Modern Shares & Stock Brokers, said 7540 is a crucial level for Nifty and if this level is breached, the index risks falling to 7,300 levels.

4) In the Indian markets, metal stocks came under strong selling pressure on concerns that the depreciation of the Chinese yuan could make imports cheaper. Oil stocks also tumbled following global crude prices plunging to 11-year lows. Cairn India slumped 7 per cent while ONGC tumbled 5 per cent. Among the metal stocks, Tata Steel , Hindalco and Vedanta fell between 4 per cent and 5 per cent.

5) The crash in China markets also triggered a sharp fall in other Asian markets. Japan’s Nikkei shed 2.3 per cent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng plunged 2.75 per cent.

6) Analysts attributed the crash in China market to the sharp fall of the nation’s currency yuan – which fell to lowest since March 2011- deepening concerns about the economy and the potential for competitive devaluations by other countries.

7) The Chinese central bank, People’s Bank of China, today set the yuan rate at 6.5646 per dollar, 0.50 per cent weaker than the previous day’s fix of 6.5314. This is the biggest single-day fall of yuan since August. This is the eighth day in a row, China has set its currency lower.

8) A surprise devaluation in August last year saw China lower the yuan nearly 5 per cent against the dollar in a week, sending tremors through global markets on concerns Beijing was struggling to control a slowdown in growth.

9) The World Bank on Wednesday cut its global economic growth forecast for 2016, citing concerns over the performance of major emerging market economies like China and Brazil.

10) Overnight, the Wall Street closed at three-month lows amid general risk aversion, amplified by a continuing decline in crude oil prices and geopolitical concerns following North Korea’s nuclear test on Wednesday. The Dow Jones industrial average ended down 252.15 points, or 1.47 per cent.

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