Sensex tumbles by over 600 points, on global cues


Sensex tumbles by over 600 points, on global cues
Mumbai: The Sensex slipped below the 15,000 mark by shedding over 600 points on the back of sell-off across the global markets. A key index of the Indian equities market finished the day 626.71 points in the red at 14,784.92 points. Even the current drought conditions in the country affected the sentiment of investors on Dalal Street. The letdown by the markets comes days after the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's assurance that India's economy will grow at nine percent very soon. Monday was the first trading day after Singh shared his views on the Indian economy during the Independence Day speech. Even the other measures for housing, energy and education sectors announced by the PM during his address, gave little solace to the markets. The chart showing the 52 week performance of Sensex is on the left. Even the Chinese stocks touched their lowest level on Monday over the renewed concern on the economic outlook and government policy. Investors were nervous over a possible tightening of bank lending policies, which could affect liquidity. The Nifty of the National Stock Exchange (NSE) also closed in the red, losing 4.2 percent from its previous closing figure to end at 4,387.9 points. Even the broader market indices closed in the negative terrain, with the BSE midcap index ending 3.90 percent down, while the the BSE smallcap index closed 3.13 percent. The market breadth was negative, with 674 stocks advancing, 1,929 declining and 73 remaining unchanged. All the 30 stocks on the Sensex ended on the losing side, the prominent among them being: DLF, down 7.75 percent at 364.40; Hindalco, down 7.35 percent at 100.25; Tata Steel, down 6.82 percent at 437.70, and Sterlite, down 6.69 percent at 618.05. The total turnover stood at 91,347.93 crore Monday, with 15,405.54 crore coming from the NSE cash segment and 70,983.18 crore contributed by the NSE futures and options segment. The balance 4,959.21 crore came from the BSE cash segment. Other Asian markets were also facing selling pressure. The Nikkei, a key index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, closed 328.72 points or 3.1 percent lower than its previous close at 10,268.61 points, even as the Japanese economy grew first time in five quarter, posting a growth of 0.9 percent in April-June. The Hang Seng, the primary index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, too shut shop at a loss of 755.68 points or 3.62 percent at 20,137.65 points. European shares, which opened weak, were ruling in the negative. In Britain, the FTSE 100 index was 1.87 percent lower at 4,625.95 points. Its French peer, the CAC 40, was down 2.31 percent at 3,414.37 points. Germany's DAX fell 2.15 percent to 5,194.84 points.