Sensex falls 148 points on North Korean jitters

A rally in Reliance Industries and Kotak Bank helped the index recover some of the losses

Stocks slipped back into the red on Wednesday with the Sensex falling almost 148 points to 31,661.97, tracking global sell-off on lingering worries about North Korea and the rupee hitting three-week low against the dollar.

The rupee dropped to a low of 64.26 per dollar (intra-day), its weakest level since August 16, on sustained foreign fund outflows despite a weak dollar overseas.

After opening lower at 31,713.50, the 30-share Sensex slipped further to touch a low of 31,586.53.

A rally in Reliance Industries and Kotak Bank helped the index recover some of the losses and finally settle at 31,661.97 points, still down by 147.58 points or 0.46 per cent.

The index had risen by 107.30 points on Tuesday on bargain buying.

The NSE Nifty remained in the negative terrain through the session and cracked below the 9,900-mark at one stage to hit a low of 9,882.55.

It recovered partially to close with a loss of 36 points, or 0.36 per cent at 9,916.20.

Photograph: Shailesh Andrade/Reuters