From correspondents in Maharashtra, India, 12:02 PM IST

Indian equities markets crashed Friday morning, with the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange, the Sensex, going down over eight percent shortly after the opening bell.

The Sensex opened at 10,632.27 points, well below its close of 11,328.36 points Wednesday. Before 10 a.m., it had fallen further to 10,416. 65 points, 911.71 points or 8.05 percent below its previous close.

The markets were closed Thursday because of Dussehra.

At the same time, the S and amp;P CNX Nifty index of the National Stock Exchange was down 236 points from its previous close to be at 3,280.55.

The Indian rupee also sank to Rs.49.30 to one US dollar.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)