India’s benchmark Sensex fell 0.76% to 71,924.68 on Monday.

The Nifty 50 lost 0.70% to 22,363.35.

Foreign investor outflows and costly oil weighed on sentiment.

The central bank took steps over the weekend to support the rupee.

The rupee opened stronger but the gains did not lift equities.

IT, metal, private bank, PSU bank and FMCG indices each fell between 0.4% and 1%, according to the same report.

Among Nifty 50 stocks, ITC, Tech Mahindra, L&T, Hindalco and Hindustan Unilever were among the top losers, with falls of about 2% to 3%.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Bajaj Auto, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Bharat Electronics and BSE Ltd were among the top gainers, according to HDFC Sky.

The rupee opened stronger, about 94 to 98 paise higher at around 95.75 to 95.77 per dollar against Friday’s close of 96.73, according to India TV and Analytics Insight.

HDFC Sky said the early recovery in the rupee did not translate into sustained buying in equities, and no closing rupee level was given in the reports reviewed.

Over the weekend, the Reserve Bank of India directed oil companies to source their dollar needs away from the spot market and tightened rules on foreign exchange hedging, according to HDFC Sky.

The RBI had recently raised the repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.5%, according to the same report.

Crude oil eased early in the session and then rose to about 106 dollars a barrel, according to HDFC Sky.

Analysts cited persistent foreign portfolio investor outflows, higher bond yields, tensions in the Middle East and weak global cues as reasons for the fall.

India VIX, a gauge of expected volatility, rose 6.05% to 15.23, according to HDFC Sky.

Business Standard’s closing report headline gave the Sensex fall as 548 points and the Nifty close as 22,363.

BSE building, Mumbai (file image), Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0