New Delhi:
Selling pressure continued unabated in the Indian markets, mirroring a fall in global equity markets, as fears mounted over the fallout from Dubai's massive debt problems.
Investors cut back their riskier bets on equities and commodities after Dubai World, the emirate's main development engine, announced it was asking creditors to delay paying back its $60 billion debt. The news triggered fears of a massive default and a wave of heavy losses at banks and companies exposed to its debt that could cause more financial pain just as the global economy is starting to recover.
Uncertainty over the ripple effects from Dubai World's financial woes sent European markets plummeting on Thursday, with benchmarks in Britain, Germany and France all losing more than 3 per cent. US markets were closed Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The Sensex was down 510 points at 16,344, while Nifty was down 155 points at 4,849.
Heavy selling was seen in most counters, with realty, banking and metal stocks among the worst hit. Among the Sensex stocks, RIL, ICICI Bank, L&T, DLF and JP Associates were down 4-6 per cent.