MUMBAI: Indian shares fell 2.67 percent in early trade Friday, joining a slide across global markets triggered by worries over the US economy and the European debt crisis.
The benchmark 30-share Sensex index on the Bombay Stock Exchange dropped 473.55 points to a day's low of 17,219.63 in morning trade.
The losses follow a huge sell-off in Europe and the United States, where the Dow suffered its worst day since December 2008, while Hong Kong, Tokyo and Sydney also fell heavily.
Infrastructure, property, banking and metal stocks were hardest hit, with rising interest rates and input costs adding to selling pressure.
Sterlite, the Indian subsidiary of global resources giant Vedanta, fell 5.19 percent or 7.85 rupees to 143.3 rupees and the country's largest private aluminium producer Hindalco was down 4.64 percent or 7.5 rupees at 154.1.
"The bears are pressing home the advantage," said Alok Churiwala, managing director of Mumbai-based brokerage Churiwala Securities.
"We are falling in sympathy with global markets but will recover quicker, as it is not an Indian crisis," he told AFP on Friday.
A top government advisory panel this week cut the growth forecast for Asia's third-largest economy from nine percent to 8.2 percent, citing the impact of a string of interest rate hikes and global uncertainty.
The central Reserve Bank of India last week hiked rates for the 11th time in 17 months to battle near double-digit inflation, which is the highest among major Asian economies.
Global sentiment was weakened by a poor jobs report from the United States -- on top of recent weak data -- and comments from European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso admitting debt contagion has now spread beyond the euro periphery.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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