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NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P Chidambaram tried to cool down the situation after the stock market benchmark Sens*x on Wednesday crashed by 1,743 points within minutes of opening, prompting suspension of trading for an hour.

Chidambaram said, “Fundamentals of the economy are still strong and there is no need for alarmist statements.”

Elaborating further, the Finance Minister said, “ Systems put in place by SEBI have worked and it has been necessary, good and in investors interest.”

The Finance Minister welcomed foreign investors through PNs. The markets immediately bounced back after re-opening after the Finance Minister’s comments.

Earlier, the stock market benchmark Sens*x crashed by 1,743 points within minutes of opening, prompting suspension of trade for an hour as a result of the fallout of regulator SEBI's move to curb Foreign Institutional Investors.

The 30-share index, Sens*x, tumbled to 17,307.90, a fall never seen before. The fall forced the trading to be suspended for one hour on BSE.