The BSE Sensex that opened on a weak note on Wednesday following massive selling in Asian indices after IMF slashed global growth forecast closed 417.80 points down to 24,062.04. Nifty50 fell 125.80 points to settle at 7,309.30. The BSE Sensex fell over 600 points intraday on Wednesday.

Sanjeev Zarbade, vice-president, private client group research, Kotak Securities, said, “Going ahead, we believe the volatility in the markets would continue. China and crude oil would continue to drive markets.We advise investors to look beyond this volatility and take a medium term view. Make volatility your friend by investing on dips.”

Below are the reasons why Sensex plunged over 600 points today:

1. The fall in Sensex was attributed to heavy selling pressure in heavyweight Reliance Industries that announced it third quarter results on Tuesday and reported its highest-ever quarterly net profit of Rs 7,290 crore for the three months ended December on refinery margins spiking to seven-year high. At 9.49 am, RIL shares were trading 3.65 per cent down at Rs 1,005.50.

2. Crude futures slumped again in early Asian trade on Wednesday, with US oil falling to its lowest since September 2003 below $28 a barrel on worries about global oversupply. That came after the International Energy Agency, which advises industrialised countries on energy policy, warned that oil markets could “drown in oversupply” in 2016.

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3. Global sell-off on fresh worries over economic growth slowdown and sliding crude oil contributed to market sentiments. In a quarterly update to its World Economic Outlook on Tuesday, IMF said the global economy will expand 3.4 per cent in 2016, down from an earlier estimated 3.6 per cent in October. It also trimmed its forecast for growth in 2017 to 3.6 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent three months ago. However, IMF retained India’s growth outlook at 7.3 per cent for the current fiscal and 7.5 per cent in the next two even as it lowered the world projection on slumping oil and commodity prices.

4. Asian share markets were in full retreat on Wednesday as a relentless slide in oil prices soured an attempted rally on Wall Street and dealt a further blow to global investors’ appetite for riskier assets. US crude wallowed at its lowest since 2003 after the world’s energy watchdog warned the market could “drown in oversupply”. US crude futures shed 53 cents to $27.93, while Brent crude lost 24 cents to $28.52 a barrel. Japan’s Nikkei fell 2.2 per cent, leaving it 20 per cent below last year’s peak and so meeting the technical definition of a bear market.

5. The Indian rupee fell to a more than two-year low on Wednesday, inching closer to a record low of 68.85 hit in August 2013, as a continued fall in global oil prices raised concerns about the global economy. At around 11.22 am IST, the rupee was trading at 67.9725/9800, compared with Tuesday’s close of 67.6450/67.6550.