Sensex Plunges 1,045 Points as RBI Rate Hike, Crude Surge Bite

India's Sensex crashed 1,045 points to a two-and-a-half-year low of 71,593, while Nifty fell 1.64% to a 21-month low of 22,231. The selloff followed the RBI's first repo rate hike in nearly four years, to 5.50%, and Brent crude's 4.25% jump above $104 a barrel. Persistent foreign fund outflows deepened losses.