Sensex ends 529 pts down on weak global cues

Sensex ends 529 pts down on weak global cues
Investors world over lose $10 trillion so far this year

After staying at the sideliness for a couple of sessions, the bears staged a comeback and went on a rampage today. The Wall Street had closed on a highly negative note yesterday despite the Senate approving a revised bailout package for the financial sector. Asian markets followed suit today and this prompted the bears to storm the Indian bourses when trade commenced this morning.
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Concerns over high inflation, declining growth and fears of some disappointing quarterly numbers from India Inc weighed in so heavily that the market easily ignored the passage of the Indo-US civilian nuclear pact by the US Senate.

While the Sensex, which plunged to a low of 12,472.61 in late afternoon trade, ended the session at 12,526.32 with a loss of 529.35 points or 4.05%, the Nifty settled at 3818.30 with a loss of 132.45 points or 3.35%. The Nifty touched a low of 3804.35 this afternoon.

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Capital goods and power stocks did open well but they lost their way quickly and drifted down into the red. Metal stocks plunged on weak trend in global metal markets. Bank, information technology, oil and telecom stocks struggled for support. Pharma stocks, with the exception of a select few - Ranbaxy Laboratories, Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Lupin, Pfizer and Orchid Chemicals closed on a firm note - stayed in the red almost right through the session.
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Among Sensex stocks, only Ranbaxy Laboratories (4.85%), Mahindra & Mahindra (1.7%) and Hindustan Unilever (0.85%) closed on a positive note today. Ranbaxy surged on the back of reports that the US Department of Justice may withdraw a motion against the company in a local court in US.
Tata Steel ended with a huge loss of 10.2% at Rs 393.80. ICICI Bank lost 8.5% on heavy selling at the counter in afternoon trade. Sterlite Industries declined 7.8% and index heavyweight Reliance Industries went down by 7.65%.
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Tata Power lost 6.1%. HDFC closed with a loss of 5.55%. Reliance Infrastructure eased by 5.15%. Larsen & Toubro, Infosys Technologies and Bharti Airtel ended lower by 4.65%, 4.3% and 4.25% respectively. Reliance Communications, DLF, Tata Motors, Jaiprakash Associates, Wipro, ONGC and Tata Consultancy Services lost 2% - 3%.
Maruti Suzuki, Satyam Computer Services, HDFC Bank, BHEL, NTPC and State Bank of India also closed with sharp losses.
SAIL, Cairn India, Nalco, GAIL India, Zee Entertainment, Reliance Power, Cipla, Tata Communications, Unitech, Suzlon Energy and Reliance Petroleum were among the prominent losers in the Nifty index. BPCL, Sun Pharmaceuticals, Hero Honda and Power Grid Corporation closed with smart gains. HCL Technologies moved up by nearly 0.75%.
Aban Offshore, Spice Telecom, Jindal Steel, United Phosphorus, India Infoline, Gujarat Minerals, Glenmark Pharma, GVK Power, Century Textiles, Punjab Lloyd, Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals, Oracle Financial Services, United Breweries, Praj Industries and Videocon Industries posted sharp losses today.
Midcap and smallcap stocks were hammered again. The market breadth was weak. On BSE, 1922 stocks closed lower. 671 stocks posted gains and 51 stocks ended flat.