The Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex on Thursday plunged over 800 points, breaking below the 23,000-mark after opening the day at 23,758.46. The National Stock Exchange Nifty also went down by over 240 points and dropped below the 7,000-mark, its lowest in the past 52 weeks. The decline is primarily due to weak cues from other Asian and European markets and weak earnings by leading index constituents, reported The Economic Times. The Indian rupee also plummeted by 45 paise to end at a 29-month low of 68.30 per US dollar, reported PTI. The drop was attributed to fresh demand for the American currency from banks and importers after a sharp fall in equities amid foreign capital outflows.

The Finance Ministry, however, tried to soothe the nerves of jittery investors, saying that the Indian economy is doing well. It added that the performance of domestic stock markets is not as bad as that of other nations, reported PTI. Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das attributed the plunge in the stock markets to global factors, saying that the government was prepared to deal with the challenges. He added that the 7.6% GDP growth projected by the Central Statistical Office for the current fiscal was "noteworthy and very significant".