Indian shares hit their lowest level in more than two weeks and headed for their third session of losses on Friday, tracking a global sell-off after the European Central Bank's (ECB) stimulus package fell well short of markets' high expectations.
The ECB cut its deposit rate deeper into negative territory and extended its asset buying by six months on Thursday.
However, its rate cut of 0.10 percentage point, to -0.30 per cent, was smaller than a 0.15 to 0.20 percentage point reduction many traders expected.
The rupee too hit a more than two-year low against the greenback at 67.01 per dollar on Friday.
"Concerns of a U.S. interest rate hike, ECB's stimulus package and impact of rains in Chennai are impacting the market," said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas.
The broader Nifty was 0.7 per cent lower after falling as much as 1 per cent to its lowest level since November 19.
The benchmark Sensex was down 0.6 per cent after falling as much as 0.94 per cent to its lowest level since November 19.
The Sensex was on track to record a decline of 1.6 per cent for the week, while the Nifty headed for a drop of 1.62 per cent.
Losses were lead by blue-chip stocks. Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC.NS) fell 1.7 per cent, ITC (ITC.NS) declined 1.43 per cent, and Reliance Industries (RELI.NS) dropped 1.2 per cent.
Bucking the trend, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (SUN.NS) rose as much as 6.5 per cent after the company won US FDA approval for generic Gleevec.
