At 1.41 pm, the S&P BSE Sensex traded 224.17 points lower at 35,550.71 from its previous close of 35,774.88. The benchmark index touched a high of 35,731.67 and a low of 35,546.91 while NSE's Nifty was trading 81.30 points lower at 10,682.10. The Indian rupee strengthened significantly for the second day in a row as it traded at Rs 71.38 per dollar, gaining 26 paise against the greenback.
On Monday, it had appreciated 28 paise to closed at Rs 71.64 per US dollar. The benchmark Brent Crude prices also eased to $66.36 per barrel. According to analysts, the rupee's recovery was in line with the gains across the emerging market currencies, which bottomed on November 13 and then started to correct upwards.
"Some investors were betting that the rate hike cycle by the US Federal Reserve was petering out and hence the main reason for the weakening of the emerging market currencies may no longer be valid," said Deepak Jasani, Retail Research Head HDFC Securities.
Stock market on Monday: Indian equities got a lift on Monday amid expectations the central bank will take measures to ease liquidity crunch and relax lending norms for state-run banks. Healthy foreign fund inflows on the back of improved macro-economic fundamentals also burnished the appeal of stocks. Notwithstanding the initial fluctuations, the S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 rose amid bets the recent frosty relations between the government and the Reserve Bank of India would thaw.