Mumbai: Indian stocks dropped for the first time in five days with S&P BSE benchmark Sensex plunging over 651 points, and  the rupee breached 68-mark versus the US dollar on fresh signs of trouble in Syria on Tuesday.

The rupee ended the day at 67.63 versus the US dollar, down 163 paise or 2.47 per cent. After gaining 918 points in last four sessions, Sensex plunged by 651.47 points, or 3.45 per cent to 18,234.66, after hitting days low of 18,166.17. Todays fall was the biggest after August 16, when it lost 769 points.

Russian news agencies said the countrys missile early warning system had detected the launch of two missiles from the central part of the Mediterranean Sea fired towards the Seas eastern coastline, amid growing fears of Western military action in Syria.

Banks were worst hit with ICICI, Axis, Yes, HDFC Bank and IndusInd seeing losses up to nine per cent. In Sensex, Reliance Industries lost 6.07 per cent to Rs 830.10, ITC by 5.37 per cent to Rs 302.25, Infosys by 1.41 per cent to Rs 3,033.85 and TCS by 2.31 per cent to Rs 2,000.85.