Indian benchmarks Sensex and Nifty crashed over 3 per cent, tracking heavy sell-offs on global bourses as the historic crude plunge brought more unease into markets already reeling from the coronavirus crisis.

The rupee also slid 30 paise to close at 76.83 against the US currency because of forex outflows and strengthening of the dollar in overseas markets as investors rushed to the safe-haven US currency.

The 30-share BSE Sensex ended 1011.29 points, or 3.20 per cent lower at 30636.71; while the NSE Nifty closed 280.40 points, or 3.03 per cent down at 8981.50.

In the Sensex pack, 27 shares closed in the red and only three in the green.

The rupee opened weak at 76.79 at the interbank forex market and during the day lost further ground and finally settled at 76.83, down 30 paise over its last close.

The rupee had settled at 76.53 against the dollar on Monday.

During the session, the rupee witnessed high volatility and touched a high of 76.62 and a low of 76.84 against the dollar.

IndusInd Bank was the top laggard on the Sensex chart, with an over 12 per cent drop. It was followed by Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, Tata Steel, M&M, ONGC and Maruti — all tumbling in the range of 6-9 per cent.

Bucking the trend, Bharti Airtel, Hero MotoCorp and Nestle India managed to clock some gains.

Sectorally, BSE bankex, metal, auto, finance, capital goods and IT indices fell up to 5.52 per cent, while telecom and healthcare indices rose up to 1.74 per cent.

In the broader market, BSE midcap and smallcap fell up to 2.96 per cent.

“After the US crude oil crash, Indian markets in sync with global markets traded negatively as the extent of the impact of lockdowns and the global slowdown is becoming evident. Corporate earnings have also been impacted by the pandemic related shutdowns,” Vinod Nair of Geojit Financial Services said.