Benchmark indices fell sharply in trade as worries over the passage of the GST Bill in the Rajya Sabha and the devaluation of the Chinese Yuan adversely affected sentiments.

The Sensex fell a huge 353 points, while the Nifty dropped 108 points. Markets fell sharply after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned as it became increasingly clear that the GST may not pass in the current session of parliament which ends on Thursday.

Indices

Metal stocks came in for severe selling pressure following the sharp devaluation in the Yuan with Vedanta, Coal India and Hindalco seeing a drubbing in trade.

Banking stocks were the other pack that saw severe selling pressure with ICICI Bank, State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank and Canara Bank among the big losers.

IT stocks saw solid support after the rupee fell to a near 2 year low against the US dollar following a sharp depreciation in the Chinese Yuan. Infosys, TCS and Tech Mahindra saw a spectacular rally in trade.

Mid cap stocks also saw good selling pressure with Apollo Hospitals, Canara Bank, DLF, India Bulls Housing Finance and Reliance Capital falling between 5-6 per cent.

Shares in Sun Pharma gained ground after its results were largely in line after a right off.

Meanwhile, markets across Asia saw a severe drubbing with the Strait Times closing almost 3 per cent lower, whileHong Kong was down more than 2 per cent. The European markets were trading lower with the German DAX and the French CAC lower by almost 2 per cent.

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