Indian markets fell sharply on Monday, with the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex marking a 443-point drop to end at 28,353, and the National Stock Exchange Nifty closing 151 points lower to end at 8,715, NDTV reported. Sensex saw a massive 550-point drop earlier in the day. The fall was largely attributed to hints that the United States Federal Reserve could hike its interest rates as early as next week. This selloff by traders is the biggest since Britain voted to the exit the European Union on June 24, according to the report.

Of the 51 companies on the Nifty, 46 ended lower on Monday, with metal and banking stocks seeing strong losses. Hindalco Industries Limited was the biggest loser of the day, falling 9%. Companies such as Tata Steel, Yes Bank and Bank of Baroda ended their trading 5% lower. On the Sensex index, Adani Ports, State Bank of India and Larsen & Toubro slumped between 3% and 5%, the Business Standard reported. The BSE midcap index also fell by nearly 3% and the rupee by 30 paise to Rs 66.97 against the dollar.

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IIFL Holdings Limited Executive Vice President Sanjeev Bhasin said markets are likely to see sharper corrections as the possibility of a rate hike can continue to affect equities in the short run. A rate hike by the US Federal Reserve will also make markets such as India less attractive to foreign investors, according to the report. On Friday, Boston Federal Reserve President Eric Rosengren said the US central bank would face increasing risks if it did not raise interest rates soon, according to The Economic Times.

The fall in domestic markets comes after the Nifty breached the 8,900-point mark for the first time in 18 months on September 6. The Sensex had also risen sharply in recent weeks, with the index hitting a 52-week high of 28,751.71 during intra-day trading on September 6. Foreign investors have pumped nearly $6 billion (approximately Rs 39,885 crore) into Indian markets this year.