Sensex Plunges 840 Points On India-China Border Tensions

Rising border tensions between India and China saw stocks ending the day sharply lower, with the Nifty losing as much as 260 points and the Sensex plunging 850 points in trade. In fact, the Nifty which was up a solid 130 points in early trade dropped sharply and lost almost 400 points from the day's peak levels.

"On the Night of 29/30 August 2020, PLA troops violated the previous consensus arrived at during military and diplomatic engagements during the ongoing standoff in Eastern Ladakh and carried out provocative military movements to change the status quo. Indian troops pre-empted this PLA activity on the Southern Bank of Pangong Tso Lake, undertook measures to strengthen our positions and thwart Chinese intentions to unilaterally change facts on ground. The Indian Army is committed to maintaining peace and tranquility through dialogue, but is also equally determined to protect its territorial integrity. A Brigade Commander level Flag Meeting is in progress at Chushul to resolve the issues," a press release issued by the PIB stated.

IndusInd Bank, Zee Entertainment and State Bank of India were among the top losers in trade. In fact, banking stocks were the biggest losers from the Nifty with some of the large private sector banks like ICICI Bank dropping as much as 5 per cent in trade. ONGC was among the few Nifty stocks that gained in trade today.

Meanwhile, the rupee snapped a three-day winning streak in today's session, ending with losses due to volatility in the equity markets.