Mumbai, November 12: The BSE Benchmark Sensex Monday plunged by about 346 points owing to an intense fag-end selling mainly in auto and energy stocks amid renewed concerns over rupee fall and rising global crude oil prices. Similarly, the NSE Nifty fell by 103 points to 10,482.20 points. The benchmark Brent crude snapped its four-day losing streak and rose 2.09 per cent to 71.62 per barrel after Saudi Arabia, the world's top crude exporter, said Sunday it will cut oil output from next month, as major producers held a key meeting to discuss shoring up sliding prices.

Further impacting domestic market sentiments, the Indian rupee again breached the 73-mark, dropping 57 paise (intra-day) to 73.07 against the dollar. Besides, a caution prevailed among investors ahead of key macro data -- index of industrial production (IIP) for September and CPI inflation for October -- to be released later in the day. Sensex Breaches 38,000 Mark for The First Time in Indian History.

Mixed leads from most other Asian markets and a lower opening of european shares too fuelled the downtrend. "Market witnessed selling pressure and dropped below 10,500 levels due to weak global market and rise in oil prices on concerns of production cut. Investors are looking forward to today's CPI inflation which is expected to soften to 3.6 per cent. Stability in oil price and favorable rupee are crucial to find support in the market," Vinod Nair, Head of Research, Geojit Financial Services Ltd, said.

The 30-share Sensex opened on a strong footing at 35,287.49 and advanced to scale a high of 35,333.22 in line with a firming trend at other Asian markets and fresh inflows of funds by foreign investors. However, profit-booking by investors at better prices wiped out initial gains and the Sensex slipped to a low of 34,756.80 before settling 345.56 points, or 0.98 per cent, down at 34,812.99. During the volatile session, it swung over 576 points on alternate bouts of hectic buying and selling. The gauge had lost 79.13 points on Friday.

The broader NSE Nifty slipped below the 10,500-mark by falling 103 points, or 0.97 per cent, at 10,482.20. It touched a high of 10,645.50 and a low of 10,464.05 during the day. Meanwhile, on a net basis, foreign funds bought shares worth a net Rs 614.14 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DIIs) sold shares to the tune of Rs 337.28 crore on Friday, provisional data showed.